Local art lovers have a lot to look forward to in the coming years. The Tampa Museum of Art recently celebrated 101 years and announced an expansion that will add a significant amount of space to the downtown Tampa location to make more room for exhibits, education, events and more.
The museum, which opened its doors in November of 1920, moved to the current location in 2010.
“We feel that we are continuing the dream, the spirit of the museum, by continuing to grow,” said Tampa Museum of Art’s community engagement manager, Kessandra Abel. “We can’t stand still because the Tampa Bay community isn’t standing still.”
The new construction, which is expected to be completed in 2024, will add a crystalline, four-story structure to the waterfront with approximately 51,000 sq. ft. of new space. This is in addition to the previously announced 25,000 sq. ft. renovation already underway which will double the museum’s exhibition spaces and triple its education spaces.
According to the museum’s visitor experience and volunteer assistant supervisor, Denise Esquibel-Rangel, much of the new space will be transparent so that residents in Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park and at Tampa Riverwalk will be able to see what is going on inside and will feel invited to enter.
The project is designed by New York-based Weiss/Manfredi Architecture and the fundraising goal for the project is $100 million.
“I believe the cultural life of the city is key to our long-term success,” said Kerry Divers, president of the Tampa Museum of Art’s board of directors. “It will be a landmark facility for this whole part of the state.”
The project will also include an extra 1,000 square feet to a redesigned dog park and new entrances to the museum from Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park.
To learn more about the expansion, visit www.tampamuseum.org/testsite. The museum, which is located at 120 W. Gasparilla Plz. in Tampa, is open from Monday to Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and on Thursday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m., and can be reached at 274-8130. To purchase tickets, call 421-8380 or visit www.tampamuseum.org/visit/.
