The Springfield Art Museum is slated to close for about three years beginning in September 2024 for renovations to the building.
The temporary closure and planned renovations are a part of the museum’s 2028 Campaign, a “visionary comprehensive site plan” transforming the building and grounds ahead of its 100th anniversary.
With all exhibits expected to wrap up by Sept. 1, 2024, construction is set to begin in January 2025 and continue through 2027. Museum Affairs Officer Joshua Best said the goal is for the project to be wrapped up early in 2027, but museum staff remained cautious with their estimates.
Best said the closure of the entire museum is necessary because renovations affect every part of the building and it's more cost effective to work on the entire building at one time.
“There's not a way to keep part of it open and part of it closed and display the collection,” Best said. “No. 1, it wouldn't be safe for the public, and it also wouldn't be safe for the artwork as well.”
Though the facility will be shuttered to the public and its collection will be out of view, the Springfield Art Museum will continue to provide art-making programs and other services throughout its closure, including the free project take-home bags that have been offered since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In a lot of ways, the pandemic kind of gave us a blueprint on how to keep delivering services while we didn't have access to the facilities,” Best said.
More details on those programs and services will come available prior to the museum closing.
Where some of those services will be available — and a temporary home for museum staff — is yet to be determined. Despite the loss of their primary workspace, Best said there won't be a loss in work, and no employees will be laid off due to the closure.
“All of the work still continues, our curatorial team can still work on the collection, doing object research and cataloging. There'll be all of the work to reinstall all of the museum's galleries, and all of that takes a lot of time preparation and planning,” Best said.
Upcoming renovations follow the completion of work on the museum’s grounds, including the naturalization of Fassnight Creek, parking improvements and connectivity to trails and other nearby amenities.
Renovations will replace the existing education wing, add an entry on the west side of the building and give a facelift to the museum’s galleries, in addition to other improvements to the facility.
A contractor for the construction is yet to be determined. Best said that the City of Springfield — which the museum is a department of — is in final negotiations for the construction manager-at-risk.
Though not finalized, the latest cost estimate for the renovations total $25 million, a figure that will be refined when a construction manager is selected, according to Best.
The comprehensive plan, planning for which dates back to 2018, is being funded through a $25 million capital improvement campaign. Launched in 2021, the museum had reached over 60% of its goal by April of this year.
More information on the 2028 Campaign can be found here, and its progress can be followed by signing up for notifications.
