Privately funded facility will house University’s art collection
KENNESAW, Ga. (Sept. 25, 2012) — Kennesaw State University held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Bernard A. Zuckerman Museum of Art today at the construction site adjacent to the Dr. Bobbie Bailey & Family Performance Center. The museum is expected to open in fall 2013.
The facility is named in honor of retired businessman Bernard A. Zuckerman, who provided $2 million for the $3 million project. Other major donors include the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation and the Leo Delle Lassiter Jolley Foundation, among others.
This 9,200-square-foot museum will house the University’s permanent art collection and serve as a cultural resource on contemporary art. It includes three exhibition galleries, as well as the Leo Delle Lassiter Jolley Foundation Collection Research Center and the Ruth V. Zuckerman Pavilion, a glass atrium devoted to the sculptures of Zuckerman’s late wife, who was renowned for her work in stone and bronze.
“The Zuckerman Museum of Art is a wonderful example of the important role private funding plays in the University today,” said Daniel S. Papp, president of Kennesaw State University. “We are deeply grateful to Mr. Zuckerman, the Woodruff Foundation, the Jolley Foundation and so many others who understand the value of providing a state-of-the-art museum on the Kennesaw State University campus. This project would not have been possible without their support.”
The Zuckerman Museum of Art will adjoin the Bailey Center, which houses two gallery spaces — the Don Russell Clayton Gallery and the Anna F. Henriquez Atrium — and the Audrey B. and Jack E. Morgan, Sr., Concert Hall. It is located near the Howard Logan Stillwell Theater and the Onyx Theater, enabling campus visitors to move easily between the University’s performance and exhibition venues.
“The art museum will become the hub of the Arts District on campus, providing a welcoming center that physically connects the corridor between the concert hall of the Bailey Performance Center and the two theaters,” said College of the Arts Dean Joseph Meeks. “Students and the community will be able to partake in multiple arts experiences on every visit to campus.”
The Zuckerman Museum of Art is part of the KSU Department of Museums, Archives and Rare Books, which also oversees the Museum of History and Holocaust Education, the Fred D. Bentley, Sr., Rare Book Gallery and the KSU Archives.
Catherine Lewis, executive director of the department, explains that “in addition to curating and presenting new exhibitions on contemporary art, the Zuckerman Museum will draw upon the University’s expansive art collection, including works by Rembrandt Peale, Viola Frey, Norman Rockwell, Howard Finster, Lamar Dodd, Thomas Hart Benton, James Abbott McNeil Whistler, N.C. Wyeth and Athos Menaboni.”
The Bernard A. Zuckerman Museum of Art has been designed by Stanley Beaman & Sears. It is being built by Possibility Construction, Inc.
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Kennesaw State University is the third-largest university in Georgia, offering more than 90 graduate and undergraduate degrees, including doctorates in education, business and nursing, and a Ph.D. in international conflict management. A member of the 35-unit University System of Georgia, Kennesaw State is a comprehensive, residential institution with a growing population of 24,100 students from more than 130 countries.
