The Art Museum of WVU
About the Museum
Architect’s rendering of the Michael Graves building (former alumni center) and the new Art Museum, January 2010
After years of planning, the Art Museum at West Virginia University is becoming a reality with an expected opening date in spring 2012. SmithGroup Architects of Detroit has completed the conceptual development phase for the new construction located near the Creative Arts Center on Patteson Drive.
Renderings of the new Art Museum of West Virginia University, SmithGroup
The new museum will present both touring exhibitions and exhibitions drawn from the university art collection in two galleries totaling approximately 5300 sq ft. The building will be designed to be energy-efficient while controlling light, humidity, and temperature levels within the ranges required to protect vulnerable works of art. Also planned are a print study area, a spacious lobby, climate-controlled art storage and exhibit work area.
The new museum will make art more accessible to the public, providing two art galleries totaling approximately 5300 sq ft.that will present touring exhibitions as well as exhibitions drawn from the university art collection. The building will be designed to be energy-efficient while controlling light, humidity, and temperature within the appropriate ranges required to protect vulnerable works of art.
Erickson Alumni Center, Photo by Janet Paige Bonsall, c. 1986
The new museum building will be connected by a corridor to the former Erickson Alumni Center which became available when the WVU Alumni Association moved into its new home in fall 2008. Designed by noted architect Michael Graves and opened in 1986, the building is now undergoing renovation (see photos of the work-in-progress posted on this website). Although it will have a new use, its original architecture, so characteristic of Michael Graves’ style, will be retained. When work is completed in late spring 2010, the building will house staff offices, a museum shop with refreshments, and an outdoor terrace for seasonal use. The Great Hall will host a variety of educational programs, including art activities, lectures, artist demonstrations, recitals, and performances. This space will also be available to rent for receptions, dinners, and other events.
Complementing Graves’ design of the former alumni center, the new museum building represents a different style of architecture that relates to the setting through the use of stone and expanses of glass on all three floors. Visitors will be able to look in from the outside and once inside, they will enjoy glimpses of the outdoors as they move between the floors and in and out of galleries. An electronic classroom on the first floor will accommodate up to 30 students. A study/seminar room adjacent to the classroom will be used for researchers studying prints and other works of art from the collection. Located on the second floor is an exhibit gallery intended for shows that are primarily organized from the museum’s collection. Another exhibit gallery on the top level will facilitate the logistics of traveling exhibits by its proximity to an exhibit preparation and staging room, collections storage area, and the loading dock where shipments of art exhibits will be received. This plan takes advantage of the grade of the roadway behind the museum, allowing the loading dock on the third floor to actually be at ground level on that side of the building while the public entrance on the first floor at the front of the building is also at ground level.
Joyce Ice, Director of the Art Museum, joined the WVU community in January 2009. A museum professional with over twenty years experience in the field, she was Director of the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, NM, for nine years where she oversaw numerous international exhibitions and accompanying publications. A graduate of WVU and the University of Texas—Austin, Ice returned home to her alma mater to take on the challenge of building a new museum in her native state.
“The Art Museum will be a place where people can experience art in an inviting and beautiful setting that encourages them to take a closer look,” Ice says. “We want people to feel exhilarated and inspired by the art, genius, creativity and skill that they encounter at the museum. Art helps connect us to other human beings, and to other cultures past and present.”
Robert Bridges. Curator of the Art Museum, earned his MFA in printmaking at WVU. He has organized exhibits since 2000 in the Mesaros Galleries at the College of Creative Arts. Among them are the international exhibition “Ceramic Art from the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute” and two national exhibitions featuring the work of American Modernist Blanche Lazzell, a West Virginia native. Bridges is a co-editor of the book “Blanche Lazzell, The Life and Work of an American Modernist” (2004) from WVU Press.
The Art Museum will expand educational opportunities for WVU students, faculty and staff while serving as a cultural resource for northern West Virginia and the surrounding region. Funding for the project comes from the university as well as private donors through the West Virginia University Foundation.
Collection
The current collection of some 2,500 works of art has been created through private gifts, alumni donations, and purchases. Its scope is international and includes paintings, prints, works on paper, historic and contemporary ceramics, art from West Virginia and the region as well as works from Asia and Africa. The collection holds the largest public collection of art by American Modernist Blanche Lazzell. More artists from the collection
Work-in-Progress
January 20, 2010
Image 1 – Prep for new windows in Great Hall. Image 2 – Drywall in the staff offices.
January 7, 2010
December 8, 2009
Photos by Kevin Kilinsky, 12-8-09
November 11, 2009
Continued progress at Erickson: Taping and mudding drywall in the Great Hall,
and installing insulation on the new duct work. Photos taken by Kevin Kilinsky on 11-11-09.
October 22, 2009
Image 1 – Al Bildstein, Construction Manager, consults blueprints. Image 2 – Tom Sapp, On-Site Coordinator, on lift (Congratulations on being named Employee of the Month, Facilities Management, Sept. 2009.) Image 3 – Andy and Joel, laborers on the demolition project, pose for the camera. Image 4 – Great Hall. Image 5 – Carpenter Roy Bate in the Great Hall. Image 6 – New offices
October 6, 2009
Great Hall , Upstairs corridor with drywall, Director’s office, Framing the new mechanical room. Photos taken 10-6-09 by Kevin Kilinsky, Construction Manager, PDC
September 17, 2009
Work-in-progress to transform the former alumni center into educational space and staff offices for the new Art Museum of West Virginia University. Great Hall and upstairs corridor on 9-17-2009
Support the Art Museum of WVU
You can make a difference by helping to build a new museum at West Virginia University with a tax-deductible contribution to the WVU Foundation, Inc. designated for the Art Museum Fund. Contact Bill Coates, Director of Development, College of Creative Arts, online at bill.coates@mail.wvu.edu or by phone at 304/293-4841 ex. 3222 for more information about making a donation.
Teacher Institute
Art: Objects, Meanings, and the Humanities – June 20-26, 2010.
About the Teacher Institute:- a 5-day Institute for middle and high school teachers designed to increase understanding of the connections between the study of the visual arts and the humanities
- Using original works of art from the art museum collection, teachers and humanities faculty will explore various literary, historical, religious, and cultural perspectives
- teachers will work in multi-disciplinary teams to develop imaginative lesson plans in keeping with the WV Department of Education’s Content, Standards and Objectives for the subject matter and grade levels represented in the Institute.
- includes presentations, panel discussions, group activities, and field trips to Pittsburgh museums
Download the PDF for more information.
Press Releases
10/09 Bridges named curator of the Art Museum of WVU
12/09 Art Museum receives Humanities Council Grant for 2010 Summer Teacher Institute
12/09 Valerie Wright named registrar for Art Museum at WVU
West Virginia Public Radio
02/26/2009 – Bob Bridges and Joyce Ice discuss plans for the Art Museum in a radio interview with Emily Corio.
Listen to broadcast