Muscarelle Museum of Art at William & Mary Reopens After Two-Year Expansion Project

WILLIAMSBURG— The Muscarelle Museum of Art at William & Mary reopened its doors to the public on Feb. 8 after the completion of a two-year expansion project.

The public was welcomed into the building to explore, take guided tours and see the expansion for themselves including the 12 art galleries displaying highlights of the Muscarelle’s permanent collection and the museum’s first special exhibition.

“It’s been a really long road. We’ve been thinking about this since the early 2000’s and it took a while to kind of get it off the launch pad. But even the fundraising and the strategic planning for the project took maybe longer than I would have expected. You finally get to the point where you’re about to start construction then you realize that you have to close for two years and figure out a way to stay relevant during those two years,” said Muscarelle Museum of Art Director David Brashear.

“To be at the end of all of that, to actually have all of that in the rearview mirror and now all you get to do is look forward to the future, it’s just amazing. It’s been an amazing week for us and the university. Everyone is fired up about what we have going on here and what we’ve created and that’s really rewarding to hear — the great amount of satisfaction and joy and quite frankly euphoria across the university,” he continued.

The first exhibition on display — “William & Mary Collects III” — features artwork on loan from alumni and friends of the university. The exhibit will remain on display until June 8.

Coming soon to the museum is the Michaelangelo The Genisis of the Sistine exhibit, which will open March 6 and remain on display until May 28.

The new space also features areas for students to study, as well as a large room where art workshops will be held.

The museum can be found at on the campus of William & Mary at 603 Jamestown Road in Williamsburg. For more information about the museum visit its official website.