Spencer Museum of Art to reopen in October after over a year of renovations
Written by Omar Sanchez
For nearly a year and a half, the Spencer Museum of Art has been out of the public eye after major renovations forced it to close its doors. Now, the museum is planning its reentry into the public sphere.
The Spencer is planning to showcase its new look to students, faculty and the Lawrence community during an official reopening on October 15 and 16, with special faculty and student previews the week before.
"Reopening weekend is a special opportunity to help usher in a new era in the museum’s storied history,” said Amy Duke, public programs and visiting experience manager at the museum. "As well as celebrate the achievements of artists from across the globe and four millennia."
People will have the opportunity to see the museum’s new features including a glass-encased entryway, an expanded lobby and a two-story window with a view out to Marvin Grove. It is a renovation project led by architects at Pei Cob Freed & Partners, an award-winning firm whose past work includes the Grand Louvre in Paris, the U.S Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and the Los Angeles Convention Center.
The free preview events will be an opportunity for those in the KU community to explore these new and improved pieces of architecture. Events include a colleague preview for faculty and staff Oct. 5 from 4 to 7 p.m. and a student preview party on Thursday, Oct. 6 from 7 to 10 p.m.
"Each of the preview events, as well as reopening weekend, are a celebration of the opening of our architecture and an opportunity to showcase the ways the renovation supports and strengthens our work with and for the University and the community," Duke said.
At the previews, guests will see two new collection galleries, as well as an installation related to this year's Common Book, "Between the World and Me." Four other galleries will also be reinstalled for viewing, with live music and refreshments available to those in attendance.
Reopening weekend will then follow suit on October 15 and 16, which will be free and open to the public. The museum will host not only the newly reinstalled galleries, but also a cross-campus progressive music concert entitled "Resonant Vessels” on Saturday and a free pancake picnic at Central Court on Sunday.
Celka Straughn, director of academic programs at the museum, said she is excited to finally see the culmination of the "Phase I" renovation effort during opening weekend.
"It’s been very hard not to have that access, but we work with the museum because we enjoy the works of art and engaging with everyone who comes," Straughn said. "That’s something we really missed over the past year and a half."
The reopening also means that the museum will be able to begin the new integrated arts research initiative, a major grant given by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation that will provide faculty, undergraduate and graduate fellowships.
These fellowships will align with the museum's focus in research, a chance for interdisciplinary studies in the arts to go beyond what one sees in a gallery space or exhibition.
The end of "Phase I" also signals the next step of improvements: a yet publicly-announced "Phase II." No dates are known for this second stage of renovations, though Straughn said part of the plan will involving further expansion of the museum’s space and capabilities.
"The museum was built in 1978 and since, the collection has grown tremendously. Not only because there is more works of art, but the staff has grown, too," she said.
The continued rise in popularity of the museum has outgrown its structure, and with more K-12 programs and research opportunities around the corner, Straughn said to expect major additions some time in the future, including a café/restaurant area for visitors.
More information on the "Phase I" renovations can be found at the Spencer Museum website. Check out their program & events calendar for more on opening weekend activities.
Notes on piece: This writer often has difficulty placing the most important information high up in the story in his draft, so I usually have to figure out what information actually belongs in the lede. He also works a different job on Friday afternoons during my shift, so I can't always talk his story through with him. In this one, I had to condense his first several paragraphs into two or three and move some stuff around, first by myself and I later approved it with him.
