WAMdemonium at the newly reopened Weisman

Frank Gehry building expands so museum can celebrate its collection in full.

Curators at the Weisman Art Museum have another 8,100-square-feet to play with.

Image credit: David Jarnstrom

By: David Jarnstrom

Nearly two decades after the Weisman Art Museum (WAM) opened its doors on the East Bank of the University of Minnesota, the striking stainless steel structure is celebrating a grand reopening.

The event follows an 8,100-square-foot expansion that led to the creation of four new galleries at the 18-year-old building. The added room allows curators to pull more material out of storage for the public to enjoy. The museum’s collection includes around 20,000 objects.

“In our former incarnation, we only had room to show very few,” says Lyndel King, the museum’s director and chief curator. “[The new galleries] will pretty much be devoted to our collection.”

Among the new additions are the Woodhouse Galley, which will display American paintings and sculpture; the Edith Carlson Gallery, which will feature work from the late Minnesota native; and the Target Gallery for collaborative arts.

Frank Gehry reprised his role as architect of the most polarizing building in town, designing the expansion as well as adding additional exterior adornment along the north side of the building where student foot traffic is heaviest.

In a somewhat surprising move, much of the new façade is finished in reddish-brown brick rather than the stainless steel that covers the bulk of the building.

“This is primarily a brick campus,” King explains. “There’s more brick on the [east] side that faces campus. I think it was out of respect for that.” The new brick-and-steel WAM exterior is also noticeably sympathetic to the adjacent Science Teaching and Student Services building.

The WAM’s year-long shuttering ends this Saturday with their grand reopening gala, which, unfortunately, is already sold out.

However, tickets still remain for the exclusive after-hours gala, which will give attendees the opportunity to be among the first to explore the museum’s new digs. The New Standards will be on hand to provide their excellent brand of pop-jazz for the event, and beer and wine are included with the $50 ticket price.

For those unable or unwilling to shell out the dough for Saturday night’s festivities be sure to check out Sunday’s grand opening WAMdemonium event, which runs from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Rock out to the sweet sounds of Rogue Valley, get your stretch on with architectural-inspired poses led by Gorilla Yogis, screen print t-shirts with the U of M’s Bohemian Press, or simply wander the striking new galleries and take in some of the WAM’s freshly displayed works.