The Tampa Museum of Art is thrilled to announce the official opening of seven new exhibition spaces. Last evening, during the Museum’s Renovation Celebration, Tampa Bay’s leaders, Museum benefactors and members gathered to mark the conclusion of the Museum’s Centennial Renovation project phase, which began construction in mid-2021. The new spaces include the transformation of underused storage rooms into the Vinik Family Education Center and seven new exhibition galleries. The spaces are designed by New York-based WEISS/MANFREDI Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism, the firm also responsible for the expansion of the existing museum building.

With the completion of the renovation phase of the Centennial Renovation and Expansion, the museum’s exhibition and collection space has grown from 14,800 square feet to more than 43,000 square feet, including a renovated sculpture gallery on the first floor, and a flexible multimedia gallery space on the second floor. The lobby of the existing building has been remodeled into a sculpture atrium, making art the focus of the visitor experience immediately upon entering the building.

The education spaces, now known as the new Vinik Family Education Center, have also grown from 1,400 square feet to more than 8,000 square feet. The Vinik Family Education Center began offering classes in May 2022 and includes four classrooms, a lobby, orientation space, and a ceramics kiln. To date, the Vinik Family Education Center has served over 12,000 adults, children and teens through camps, studio classes, tours, art therapy-informed programs and more.

“The Renovation Celebration marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the Tampa Museum of Art,” said Michael Tomor, the Tampa Museum of Art’s Penny and Jeff Vinik Executive Director. “With our expanded exhibition and education spaces, we are thrilled to be able to showcase the diverse work of so many talented artists and offer more programming to our visitors. We look forward to continuing to represent the vibrant community that we serve.”

As part of the realignment of space, WEISS/MANFREDI designed a new transparent façade surrounding the first floor of the Museum, allowing the community to experience the Museum’s mission 365 days a year. This new façade, along with the expanded museum store, atrium galleries and new west lobby, align with an important initiative of the Centennial Campaign to increase both visibility and accessibility to the Tampa Museum of Art.

The Renovation Celebration event marked the completion of the renovation phase of the Centennial Renovation and Expansion at the Tampa Museum of Art, and the Museum will continue its Centennial Campaign for the expansion phase.

The next phase will be the construction of a stunning 55,000-square-foot expansion, which will transform the museum into a vibrant hub of art and culture. Designed as a crystalline pier extending the museum to the edge of the river, the new expansion will create a series of interconnected multifunctional spaces that triple the event space from 7,200 square feet to 25,600 square feet. The new addition will include a 150-seat auditorium, an art lounge, a large event space, and a rooftop event venue, all of which will provide flexible settings for a wide range of art and cultural programming. The expansion will also feature new outdoor sculpture areas bringing art to the redeveloped public spaces along Curtis Hixon Park and the Tampa Riverwalk. With the new expansion, the Tampa Museum of Art aims to offer a seamless and integrated public experience around the museum and the park.

About The Tampa Museum of Art

Founded in 1920, the Tampa Museum of Art inspires the residents of the Tampa Bay region and others around the world by providing engaging exhibitions and innovative education programs that emphasize ancient, modern, and contemporary art. The Museum houses one of the largest Greek and Roman antiquities collections in the southeastern United States. As one of the region’s largest museums devoted to the art of our time, the Museum’s permanent collection also embraces sculpture, photography, painting, new media, and more.

New online programs add to the year-round studio art classes, lectures, and tours that provide children, teens, and adults with opportunities to discover new perspectives and learn different art-making techniques. Likewise, through unique community partnerships, the Museum offers outreach programs that provide art-therapy-informed interventions and meaningful modes of self-expression to vulnerable segments of the population.

Located in the heart of downtown Tampa, next to the Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park and Tampa’s Riverwalk, the Tampa Museum of Art leads as both a cultural institution and a community museum dedicated to celebrating the diversity of its home city.

About Weiss/Manfredi Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism

WEISS/MANFREDI Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism is a multidisciplinary design practice based in New York City. Founded by Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, the firm is known for the dynamic integration of architecture, art, infrastructure, and landscape design. Their work is noted for the strategic engagement of architecture and site and recognizes the critical dialogue between enclosed and open spaces, between new and existing structures, and between building and city. Notable past projects include the Seattle Art Museum: Olympic Sculpture Park, the Women’s Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Visitor Center, and Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park. The firm’s current and recent work includes the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India, the Artis—Naples Baker Museum and Cultural Campus, and the Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale University. Most recently, the firm was selected through an international competition to reimagine the La Brea Tar Pits and Page Museum in Los Angeles.

The firm has won numerous awards, including the AIA President’s Award, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Architecture, the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award, the Academy Award for Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the International VR Green Prize for Urban Design. They have also been named one of North America’s “Emerging Voices” by the Architectural League of New York and received the New York City AIA Gold Medal of Honor. Michael Manfredi is a Senior Critic at Harvard University and Marion Weiss is the Graham Chair Professor of Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.

Photo Credit: Paige Boscia, Tampa Museum of Art

Date Posted: April 27, 2023