Courtesy of Kresge Art Museum An artist's rendering of the planned Kresge Art Museum expansion shows a view of the interior from the first floor.

By Kristan Tetens

Kresge Art Museum would gain 32,000 square feet of new space – including more room for exhibitions, educational programming and visitor amenities – under an expansion plan unveiled April 8.

Architectural renderings of the expansion, which will be funded entirely by private donors and foundations, were shared with the mid-Michigan community at a reception at the East Lansing Hannah Community Center.

“Although the museum’s permanent collection, traveling exhibitions, exhibition-related programming and educational programming have grown immensely in the last three decades, the museum has not increased in size since the 1967 addition of the North Gallery,” said Susan Bandes, the museum’s director.

“We are currently unable to display more than 10 percent of our collection at any given time, and we lack the space necessary to adequately accommodate our growing number of visitors and programs for university and K-12 students.”

The expansion concepts were prepared by Hammel, Green & Abrahamson of Minneapolis, Minn., and Duce Simmons Associates of Troy, Mich., in collaboration with MSU’s Division of Campus Park and Planning.

The expansion will increase the size of the museum from 10,000 square feet to 42,000 square feet.

It is part of the university’s 20/20 Vision Master Plan, which was created to help the university accommodate additional growth in facilities, to conserve finite and valuable land resources, to extend the open space quality of the north campus, to balance vehicular traffic with pedestrians and to achieve growth in a manner that is environmentally sensitive.

The museum will anchor one corner of an anticipated fine arts district that will include the MSU Auditorium Building and a new building for the School of Music.

The expansion concepts call for a north wing and entrance to the museum on Auditorium Road that will feature a glass-walled lobby.

The first floor will also include a gallery of works from the permanent collection, a Works on Paper gallery, the discovery gallery, the museum store, an education room, collection storage, a terrace and visitor amenities.

An interior ramp will extend from near the entrance along the north side of the museum to the second-floor galleries.

The south wing will include a lobby with a view of the river, additional permanent collection galleries, a special exhibition gallery, two terraces and a roof sculpture garden.

The expansion will be undertaken in two stages, and it is anticipated that construction will be completed by 2009, the museum’s 50th anniversary.

The total cost of the project, which will be funded entirely by private gifts and grants, is currently estimated at $11-12 million.

Bandes and museum staff members are working with the museum’s Friends organization to raise money for the expansion.

In 1999, the Friends of Kresge Art Museum formed the Better Art Museum, Because Art Matters (BAM) Committee with the goal of ensuring that the vision of an expanded art museum becomes a reality.

“As members of the community we felt we could share our knowledge and understanding of the collection and museum with the community and actively help the museum try to raise money to expand,” said David Greenbaum, BAM chairperson.

To learn how to contribute to the museum’s expansion project, call Susan Bandes at 353-9836 or visit www.bamatmsu.org

Copyright 2001 Michigan State University Division of University Relations.