CLEVELAND, Ohio – Entryways at the Cleveland Museum of Art – the East Boulevard main entrance and lower-level lobby area levels, respectively – have officially reopened today.
Newly renovated Horace Kelley Art Foundation Lobby and Susan M. Kaesgen Education Gallery and Lobby spaces serve as the finishing touches on a renovation-expansion project that began in 2005.
The goal was to refresh the areas for functionality and aesthetics – to “address our visitors’ needs” and “respect and preserve our Marcel Breuer building’s historic, architecturally significant design,” said CMA director and president William Griswold in a news release.
CMA inaugurates these renovations with expanded educational and performance programs, art installations drawn from the museum’s historic Education Art Collection and the announcement of the 2024–25 Performing Arts Series in Gartner Auditorium.
“We are delighted to welcome visitors in our newly renovated lobby spaces,” said Griswold.
The newly renovated and expanded Cleveland Museum of Art lobbies have reopened today with a sleek, new look.David A. Brichford
“By enhancing the visitor experience, we are making the museum more accessible and wayfinding more informative, and we are ensuring that more space is available for students to learn through a wide range of enriching experiences with art,” Griswold said.
The Horace Kelly Art Foundation Lobby (the CMA’s principal north entrance) now features a 20-foot-long, state-of-the-art video wall showcasing daily offerings at the museum, along with an easy-to-read guide to daily tours, new exhibitions and other programs and information related to their visit.
The newly renovated and expanded Cleveland Museum of Art lobbies have reopened today with a sleek, new look.David A. Brichford
The video wall features real-time updates.
New LED lighting, a reconfigured coat check, modifications to improve safety of pavement and streamlined security systems have also been implemented – along with a new service area in the Ames Family Atrium to improve the museum visitor experience.
The Susan M. Kaesgen Education Gallery and Lobby on the lower level welcomes school groups and highlights works from the Education Art Collection (EAC) in four new glass cases.
Each installation was “co-created by educators, artists and community members for audiences of all ages,” and will change periodically to reflect “ideas, voices and vision of the community.” The EAC comprises “about 10,000 authentic works of art from across time and around the world.”
The newly renovated and expanded Cleveland Museum of Art lobbies have reopened today with a sleek, new look.David A. Brichford
The redesigned space enables the museum to realize an important ambition articulated in its strategic plan: “to welcome 100,000 pre-K through grade-12 students annually.”
In conjunction with the reopening of the lobby spaces, CMA also debuts:
· The KeyBank Information Center (in recognition of KeyBank’s recent gift in support of education);
· The Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center (upper-level performing arts spaces supported through their gift to the museum);
· The Helen Champney Cole Womens Council Office, honoring a gift made by the Helen C. Cole Charitable Trust, celebrating her support of CMA and service as past chair of the Womens Council.