Centennial Renovation and Expansion – Phase I
The Tampa Museum of Art’s current building, designed by San Francisco architect Stanley Saitowitz, opened in 2010, three years after the Museum became a nonprofit independent from the City of Tampa. At that time, museum leaders anticipated a second stage of expansion and development, which is now underway.
Phase I, ongoing now and expected to conclude in 2022, will renovate the Museum’s existing building to transform underused storage rooms into an education center and new galleries. The new spaces will allow for more exhibitions, education programs, events, and performances.
Major Features
Education Center
After the renovation and expansion conclude, the education space will grow from 1,400 to more than 12,000 square feet. On the renovation side, this involves adding a new education wing, including four classrooms, a lobby, orientation spaces, and a secure entrance, which will allow the Museum to quadruple the number of students it serves per year from 6,000 to 24,000.
Exhibitions and Collections
The exhibition and collection space will grow from 14,800 to more than 43,000 square feet. On the renovation side, this will enhance the viewing experience with five additional galleries, a renovated sculpture gallery, and a flexible multimedia gallery space.
Initiative for Program Expansion of Black, Indigenous, Latin American, Asian and Women Artists
A principal goal of the Tampa Museum of Art’s 2017–2021 strategic plan and the museum’s Centennial Renovation project is to increase our commitment to representing cultural, racial, ethnic, and gender diversity through the artists highlighted in its programs. The museum’s efforts to renovate and expand will create 20,000 additional square feet of exhibition space within its existing building. From that, 10,000 square feet will be dedicated to year-round artwork exhibitions by Black and African American, Latin American, and women artists.
With all the additional programming spaces, the Tampa Museum of Art looks forward to forging new partnerships and working with those partners to expand the reach of our programs into educational facilities and local communities alike. Once renovations conclude, the museum expects to grow its specific commitment to showcasing Black and African American artists by five times its existing exhibition space, guaranteeing over 3,000 square feet of dedicated gallery space year-round. Fully integrated year-round programming is not currently available within the region, so the Tampa Museum of Art looks forward to setting a new standard for cultural diversity in Central Florida and continue representing the vibrant community that it serves.
Ground Floor Sculpture Gallery
The lobby of the existing building will be remodeled into a sculpture atrium, allowing visitors to see art immediately upon entering the building. Visitors to the downtown area along Curtis Hixon Park and the Riverwalk will also be able to see sculptures on exhibition by walking along the museum’s new outdoor terrace and pathways.
Art Storage
Remodeling a portion of the existing art storage and support areas into four new galleries will increase the Museum’s exhibition space from its
current 21% to 36% of its total area. This will be possible thanks to new space-saving storage systems for the Tampa Museum of Art’s extensive permanent collection of over 8,000 works.
Museum Store
To the west of the new sculpture atrium will be an expanded museum store whose location will enable it to operate on independent hours to the museum. The goal is to create an art-filled, inspiring experience to reinforce the museum’s mission.