FWMoA To Build New Learning Center with Knight Grant
A $500,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation will help with the construction of a new learning center at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. It will put the museum even closer to meeting its $7.5 million goal for its capital campaign.
Executive Director Charles A. Shepard III responded, “We are so appreciative of this transformational gift from the Knight Foundation. This support will make a difference for K-12 students, their teachers, and their families through the many resources at our new John S. and James L. Knight Learning Center”.
The museum recently began construction of the new facilities, starting with the addition of 10,000 square feet of new gallery space. After the addition is complete, current galleries will close for remodeling. The project will reconfigure all of the museum’s space to facilitate better visitor service, greater accessibility and more programming. A new café, museum shop and WiFi-enabled Atrium Lounge will create a new downtown destination, providing an amenable spot for visitors to shop, relax and meet friends. The new facilities are expected to be open by early 2010.
The project includes the new Knight Learning Center and a greatly expanded public art library, with emphasis on K-12 learning. An educational resource offered by no other cultural institution in Indiana, the center has been designed to complement state educational requirements. Students will have access to a 12,000-volume art library, exploration stations, study carrels, computers, a media lab and a range of multimedia resources. The Knight Learning Center will serve as a platform for expanded in-school programs, as well as a new Discovery Box program. It will loan learning materials to classrooms to introduce students to arts activities such as bronze-casting and screen-printing.
The expansion project will also help the museum fill gaps in its permanent collection of American art, through support for future acquisitions and gallery space for additional exhibitions. The project will also include a print study room to display the museum’s extensive print collection. Most of it has not been exhibited because of strict conservation requirements.
The need for expansion and renovation is in part driven by the increasing educational outreach programs by FWMoA to both children and adults. The museum also aims to exhibit more of its own permanent collection as well as other outstanding traveling exhibitions. Through the $500,000 donation from the Knight Foundation, the Knight Learning Center will become a focal point in the museum’s American Art Initiative by bringing art to life through a dynamic learning experience.
The project will expand and enhance museum facilities, creating a new cultural hub in the center of Fort Wayne. The museum will be better positioned to provide new art education programs and resources for students and teachers throughout the region. The museum’s service to the community is projected to increase by several key measures: more than double the number of K-12 students participating in on-site or outreach programs; and increases in memberships from 1,000 to 1,800 and visitor audiences from 90,000 to 140,000 by 2013. Through its physical and programmatic growth, the museum will strengthen its identity as a premier regional American art museum.
During the construction phase the galleries may have to close for a brief period of time but the FWMoA will strive to keep open and alive with programs and events for the public. The mission of the Fort Wayne Museum of Art is to collect, preserve, present and interpret American and related art as well as engage audiences as it builds for the future.
About the Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes journalism excellence worldwide and invests in the vitality of the communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers.