The National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC is reopening later this month after a two-year, $67.5 million renovation project.
The institution will reopen on 21 October with a transformed building, a collection reinstallation and immersive exhibitions showcasing works by contemporary women artists.
The museum has expanded and enhanced the visitor experience to offer new exhibition areas, more public programming space, improved amenities and increased accessibility.
“This expansive transformation heralds a new era for the National Museum of Women in the Arts,” said director Susan Fisher Sterling. “Our building is the flagship for our mission, which resonates today more than ever.”
Transformed building and visitor experience
The renovation project, she said, “brings new possibilities for dynamic exhibitions, programs and connections” and “springs from our work championing gender equity through the arts”.
Designed by Baltimore-based architectural firm Sandra Vicchio & Associates, the project is the museum’s first full renovation since opening in 1987. The building’s façade, interior spaces and infrastructure have all been improved.
“As an architect, I believe the building plan should first and foremost support the mission of the institution,” said lead architect Sandra Parsons Vicchio.
“We focused on increased accessibility, greater flexibility to exhibit works of all types and sizes, seamlessly integrated technical capabilities for everything from digital artworks to interactive programming, and spaces to inspire and delight artists and visitors. At the end of the day, this renovation is about the art and the people.”
The museum’s major inaugural exhibition, The Sky’s the Limit, features contemporary sculptures and immersive installations by 13 international and US-based artists.
“The ambitious inaugural exhibition is all about shifting perspectives,” said chief curator Kathryn Wat. “We want to change conventional thinking about sculpture and share these personal and powerful works by some of the most important artists working today.”
To celebrate the opening weekend, the museum will offer free admission and activities on 21 and 22 October. There will be sketching, flash tattooing, F&B tasting, interactive entertainment, live performances, and conversations on special exhibitions.
Images courtesy of the National Museum of Women in the Arts
