Speed Art Museum officials are announcing one of the biggest projects in Louisville history is a go.
The $80 million Speed Museum expansion, complete with a new building amid a sculpture park setting, will break ground in 2012, according to a news release.
At the Speed Museum annual members’ meeting on Friday, Oct. 14, Dr. Charles Venable, Speed director and CEO, announced that $42.5 million had been raised during an initial quiet phase of the Changing Speed Capital Campaign, according to the release.
Last April, the Museum unveiled the overall master plan created by wHY Architecture of Los Angeles and Boston landscape architecture firm Reed Hilderbrand.
Speed officials estimate it will take more than a decade to complete the total plan at a cost of approximately $79 million in 2010 dollars, according to the release. The current Campaign is raising $50 million for the first phase of the plan which includes a new North Building and surrounding landscape.
Joseph A. Paradis III and the late Owsley Brown II have been campaign chairman and honorary campaign chairman respectively since 2007.
Richard H.C. Clay, a partner at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, and Brooke Brown Barzun, Owsley Brown II’s daughter, will be co-chairs of Community Gifts for the expansion project, according to the release.
“As an advocate of arts and culture on an international platform, Brooke will bring unparalleled expertise to the Campaign, while Dick has been very dedicated to the realization of the expansion over the past several years as a Trustee and former Board Chair,” Paradis stated in the release.
The Changing Speed Capital Campaign is the largest project in the Museum’s history.
The Campaign has 14 individual gifts of $1 million or more, according to the release. Speed Museum Board Chairman Todd P. Lowe stated: The Speed Art Museum plays a central role in the cultural life of this community, and I am very pleased that a significant number of Campaign donors have stepped up to provide support to ensure the Museum’s future. This project will improve the arts landscape in Louisville, enhancing its reputation both regionally and nationally.
Donors at the leadership level include: Mary Louise Barr, Christy and the late Owsley Brown II, the late Sara Shallenberger Brown, Paul Chellgren, Elizabeth P. and the late Frederick K. Cressman, James Graham Brown Foundation, Inc., Betty and David Jones, Sr., Helen C. Powell, Thorntons Inc. in honor of Bonnie Dance Thornton, the University of Louisville and four anonymous donors.
Humana Inc. co-founder and philanthropist David Jones, Sr. stated: My wife Betty and I have donated to the Speed’s Capital Campaign because we believe in the overall vision of the project. In addition to the physical building, the master plan incorporates added green space around the museum that will bring art experiences into nature and make the outdoors a part of the visitor’s gallery experience.
About the Expansion and the Public Campaign: Over the next year, Speed officials hope to raise $7.5 million through the public campaign. If successful, groundbreaking for the new North Building will take place in late 2012 with a completion date of late 2015. In preparation for building construction, advance work began early last summer to create a water infiltration system beneath the future Art Park and a new driveway connecting vehicular traffic from Third Street to the Museum’s parking garage. In addition to an Art Park and Piazza, the first phase of the master plan will include a new North building housing state-of-the-art temporary exhibition space and new galleries for Modern and Contemporary Art, as well as a new auditorium, café, museum store, and Family Education Atrium.
About the Speed Art Museum: The Speed Art Museum is Kentucky’s largest art museum with a collection that spans 6,000 years of human creativity. An independent Museum located on the campus of the University of Louisville, the Speed plays an important role in the cultural and educational life of the region. The Museum is situated at a crossroads between the city and the University of Louisville, adjacent to the busiest pedestrian thoroughfare on the University’s campus. To view a virtual tour of the upcoming expansion master plan visit www.speedmuseum.org.
Museum hours are Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Friday 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (open late); Sunday from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Galleries are closed on Monday and Tuesday.
Speed Art Museum officials are announcing one of the biggest projects in Louisville history is a go.
