The Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum of Art, formerly the Polk Museum of Art, recently opened its doors on a 14,000-square-foot expansion.
Two new buildings were added to a museum building completed in 1988, tripling the capacity of the main exhibition area. Renovations were made to the original building, and additional amenities were built in, including seven new galleries, educational spaces and a new creativity lab, according to a statement.
The addition is designed by Straughn Trout Architects, the same firm that designed the museum’s 1988 structure, and built by Rodda Construction.
“Every museum awaits a once-in-a-generation moment like this, and we are thrilled that the moment has finally arrived to share this incredible expansion with our art-loving community,” H. Alexander Rich, executive director and chief curator of the museum says in the statement. “From our donors and members to the construction crews and our expert museum staff, this was a massive, collaborative effort that propels our mission to be recognized as a site for exceptional accessible learning and a top academic and community museum in the region, state, and nation.”
The increased capacity will allow for the display of more works from its 3,400-piece permanent collection and a wider variety of exhibitions. Currently on view in the expansion are:
- “Above All, Enjoy The Music: Photographs by Herman Leonard”
- “Before & After: Giulio Carpioni’s Four Seasons of Man”
- “Matters of Scale: On the Intimate and the Sublime”
- “Surface, Service, and Splendor: Decorating History in Clay”
- “Matisse to Gehry: Works on Paper, 1938-2022”
- “Dutch Impressionism: The Hague School, 1860-1930”
Admission to the museum, which has been affiliated with Florida Southern College since 2017, is free.
