“I think what’s most exciting is that this, like, historic, iconic space in Ann Arbor. It’s more than 100 years old, and it has a new, fresh life. It is beautiful,” Christopher Ankney, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for The University of Michigan Museum of Art said. “It is a connection between the town and the campus. It is a place where people come to celebrate moments, and now that it is refreshed and bright and vibrant, it will feel more alive than it ever has.”
On October 10 and 11, UMMA will reopen its historic wing after an eight-month renovation period. The Ann Arbor museum will kick off the event with a free, public celebration featuring new exhibitions, artist talks, tours, giveaways and much more.
Artists Rick Lowe and Holly Bass will highlight the event with new art installations and their own special events. Lowe will host an Art at Home curator meet-and-greet, and Bass will present an artmaking program.
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“Holly’s installment titled ‘We Hold These Truths’ focuses on the country’s anniversary years. Starting with 1876. She is looking at how the country celebrated those milestones, and what parts of our history we don’t talk about during those celebration moments,” Ankney said. “Rick Low is opening an exhibition on the second floor of the building called ‘Black Wall Street Journey,’ and this is a decades-long project for him. He’s looking at the Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921 and markers of wealth in Black communities and thinking about how to reinterpret them.”
Ankney called the event an open house intended to take everyone through a historic reconstruction of one of Ann Arbor’s iconic institutions.
“Every hour, we’ll launch a new tour through the building; you can visit at any time and hop into a tour to learn more about the history of the building, the construction project, and what it took to restore a 100-year-old floor. Our curators and gallery educators will take you through these exhibitions.”
The new and improved historic wing is set to dazzle attendees. The reason for its renovation is simple. According to Ankney, the floor existed for well over 110 years and had become a safety concern.
“Cracks were appearing that we tried for years to repair,” Ankney said. “We used the opportunity to make changes in the space. The electrical is completely modernized. There are new doors in our gallery. We refurbished other wood floors throughout the building and added new data to future-proof the area and show digital art in spaces. So, in addition to the marble floor, we made other upgrades to the building as part of the process as well.”
In addition to the renovations, UMMA is launching an art shuttle, pairing with Boober Tours to provide pedicabs for anyone looking to explore the space. The cabs will operate from UMMA to the Maynard Street parking structure. The no-ticket cab will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays from October 3 through November 22.
“We were planning this for three-ish years, and the cycles of the seasons of the museum generally open new exhibitions in the fall, September and October. So we timed it to align with the opening of our fall season,” Ankney said. “October might seem weird for a celebration, but in the museum world, September-October is when the openings are happening.”
Regarding the opening of the new space, Ankney said anyone attending the celebration will enjoy a host of entertainment and educational art.
“We are viewing the months of October and November as a celebration of our space. So there are new tours every weekend,” Ankney said. “We have film screenings going on in our auditorium. There will be many opportunities over the next two months to come and check out what we have done with the place, and I hope people visit because it is beautiful.”
Antonio Cooper is a freelance journalist from Detroit, Michigan. His coverage of music festivals and interviews with local celebrities appeared in The E-Current Magazine, The Detroit Metro Times, XXL Magazine, RichMagDigital, The Ann Arbor Observer, and Pop Magazine.
