Baltimore Museum of Art Announces Renovation Reopening Schedule

The Baltimore Museum of Art announced on Tuesday the scheduled reopening of several parts of the museum as part of multi-year a $28 million renovation.

The Merrick Entrance, the Dorothy McIlvain Scott American Wing and Eat Wing Entrance and Lobby are set to be open to the public in the fall of 2014, according to a news release. The museum also announced an extension of its renovation efforts to include galleries for its Asian and African arts collection, as well as a new learning and creativity center schedule to open in the spring of 2015.

"The BMA will begin its second century a transformed museum ready to welcome and inspire a new generation of visitors,” Doreen Bolger, the museum’s director said in a news release. “At the heart of this renovation is our desire to make a powerful connection between art and people, so that the BMA will become a more vibrant destination for an expanding audience of visitors—both the community we serve and cultural tourists alike."

Here is how the museum described the renovations:

Merrick Entrance — The fall 2014 reopening of the original entrance to the BMA’s John Russell Pope-designed building heralds the museum’s goal to open its doors and provide more welcoming and memorable art experiences throughout the facility. Closed to the public since 1982, the newly reopened threshold establishes the Museum’s terrace steps as a community gathering place, sending a signal of welcome. It also creates a stronger connection with the revitalized upper Charles Street corridor and the development surrounding Johns Hopkins Homewood campus, Charles Village, and Remington neighborhoods.

Dorothy McIlvain Scott American Wing — Considered the BMA’s largest work of art, the Pope-designed Dorothy McIlvain Scott American Wing will be revitalized as a central gathering place for visitors with improvements that include the reinstallation of the original chandeliers, refinished surfaces, and the refurbishment of the terrazzo floor in the central hall. Nine adjacent galleries will feature a chronological installation of approximately 700 masterworks from the BMA’s expansive holdings of American fine and decorative arts.

 East Wing Entrance & Lobby—The BMA’s fall 2014 reopenings will also include the unveiling of the fully renovated East Wing Entrance & Lobby—redesigned to enhance the visitor experience. The renovation represents a complete overhaul of the museum’s East entry with the relocation of the main stair to create a more open and inviting connection with the second floor; a new, gracefully curved wall that delineates the new retail space; and improved circulation to the elevator. 

Wurtzburger African Art Gallery — The gallery for the BMA’s African art collection will be relocated to the center of the building on the first floor of the museum and expanded to more than three times its former space. Curated by BMA Associate Curator of African Art Kathryn Wysocki Gunsch, the new presentation of the museum’s celebrated African artcollection will include more than 100 objects in changing and thematic displays that will encourage visitors to appreciate the complexity and diversity of African art and cultures. 

Asian Art Galleries — Two new galleries on the first floor of the museum, including the relocated Levy Gallery, will enlarge and enhance the display of approximately 160 highlights from the BMA’s collection of Asian art. Curated by BMA Associate Curator of Asian Art Frances Klapthor, the museum’s Asian art collection has more than 1,000 objects from China, Japan, India, Tibet, Southeast Asia, and the Near East, with a particular strength in Chinese ceramics, especially mortuary wares from the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.) and utilitarian stonewares from the 11th through the 13th centuries.

Learning and Creativity Center — A new 5,000-square-foot space will transform the visitor experience through a combination of art, technology, interpretation, hands-on art-making, and innovative programs that will inspire visitors of all ages to explore the BMA’s collection and their own personal connections to art.