Ann Arbor’s University of Michigan Museum of Art reopens

Ann Arbor area art lovers anxiously anticipating the grand reopening of their treasured museum turned out in droves for the expanded University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) 24-hour grand reopening celebration.

Creating a buzz with a heavily hyped marathon party, the UMMA welcomed visitors to view its cool melding of modern and tradition elements, the result of a $41.9 million expansion project that closed the museum’s main building for nearly two years.

We’ve always loved visiting the UMMA, especially as a cool respite during a hot day of walking around the University of Michigan’s massive campus and funky Ann Arbor’s downtown.

Realizing an Ontario Hockey League playoff game took us within a dozen miles of the museum the night of the opening, we grabbed the opportunity for a quick post-game museum visit. So we found ourselves admiring the museum’s ambitious new re-do at 11 p.m.

Checking Twitter as we drove from the hockey game to the museum, I read a Tweet from the Ann Arbor News saying at least 5,000 people arrived at the museum during the first couple of hours after the 6 p.m. event’s start. I can believe that because even as the clock neared midnight, a large crowd packed the museum as they milled around the new spaces and waited for a DJ dance party to start.

The UMMA’s original space, a majestic 41,000-square-foot 1910-vintage Beaux Arts style building and the stark modernism of the new 53,000-square-foot Frankel Family Wing, seemed to meld seamlessly into each other to more than double the museum’s space.

The expansion means the UMMA can display closer to 10 percent of their 18,000-piece collection, as opposed to the previous space limiting them to showing closer to a mere three percent of the collection at any given time.

I loved the inclusion of more pieces from the museum’s beautiful collection of Tiffany art objects and the multiple multi-level galleries making for an expansive feeling (even as opening night crowds packed the galleries). Open study-storage galleries consisting of glass cases packed with nearly 1,000 treasures and interactive computer stations, where visitors clicked on a virtual cabinet location for in-depth information about the displayed items on a particular shelf, rated as one of my favorite features of the newly redone and re-imagined UMMA.

I heard museum officials repeatedly express the hope in local interviews that the new UMMA becomes a central community meeting place, a thought reiterated by the museum’s new guidebook, UMMA: A Beacon of Art in a chapter called “The Museum as a Town Square” and expanded building hours keeping some of the common areas open to the public until midnight each evening. The UMMA invites visitors to use the museum as a convenient meeting place, somewhere to study or catch up with email, and a respite from the busy campus, in addition to being a place to appreciate its art collection.

Visitors interested in the UMMA’s history, architecture and art collection can pick up the guidebook for $25 in the museum store. I also found some great free brochures at the UMMA front desk, including “The Art of Architecture” detailing major architectural features of the building’s design and “The Director’s Dozen”, Museum Director James Steward’s guide to an eclectic selection of museum pieces and some issues they evoke.    

Our short visit during the crowded opening party gave us just a small look at the museum’s ambitious renovation and expansion, whetting our appetite for a more leisurely daytime visit at a later date when we can enjoy the galleries and more clearly see the building’s exterior.

Note: Special thanks to Tim Marks for the use of his photo of me at the museum. Check out www.photowanderer.com for more of Tim’s great photos.

© Dominique King 2009

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Comments

[kat calvin]

The new museum is so beautiful, it was definitely worth the wait! I am so glad that I live right next door!

[gypsyscarlett]

The open storage galleries sound especially great.

[Carolina]

kudos to them for the new family wing. i love it that art museums are making fine art more accessible for kids.

[Jessie Voigts]

Excellent news!! i am so excited - we'll have to make a trip to see it soon. thanks for the heads up! sounds like a great time.

[Dominique]

Kat-Lucky you, living so close to the museum. I'll bet it will be a nice place to study or simply chill with friends.

Gypsy-The storage galleries were very cool. I sat down and started fiddling around with the computer, pointing things out to Tim, when he decided to snap the photo (I'm usually notoriously camera-shy).

Carolina-The family wing is actually named for a major donor family, although the museum site does mention a strong focus on working with K-12 teachers to develop programs and tours to fit their specific needs. They estimate 5,000+ kids visit the UMMA each year http://www.umma.umich.edu/education/k-12.html
The UMMA also has a lot of programs aimed at university and post-grad students from U of M and other area universities and colleges http://www.umma.umich.edu/education/university.html

Jessie-The museum is definitely worth the trip. I'd been anxiously watching for their re-opening and was so glad we were able to get out for part of the opening festivities.