Dennis Hevia gazed down the hallways of the new Arlington Museum of Art for a while.
Hevia, the museum's director, walked through this corridor many times as the museum moved to a new location in the city's entertainment district. He and Chris Hightower, the museum's president and CEO, transported 22 trucks for the move. He has already decorated his private office space, something his previous location didn't have.
But that feeling didn't hit Hevia, a former museum board vice president, until three days before the museum's official reopening date.
“I’ve been here since there was nothing on the floor,” he said. “I've seen everything happen. And as I was walking through this space, it occurred to me, 'This could be the (Dallas Art Museum).' This could be Kimbell. But that's not the case. This is the Arlington Museum of Art, and I almost cried. ”
Hevia is one of many staff members involved in the March 30 move of the Arlington Museum of Art to 1200 Ballpark Way in the city's entertainment district. The new museum space also includes four immersive galleries, totaling up to approximately 21,000 square feet of exhibition space, with walls 18 feet tall.
The museum's previous location contained approximately 5,500 square feet of exhibition space.
“The new AMA's footprint will be nearly eight times larger than its predecessor, bringing traditional, immersive, interactive and evolving art forms to inspire, entertain and engage our communities and our world. , can be fused in a reflective way,” Hightower said. press release.
The museum signed a contract with the city for the new location last April. The museum will pay $2.9 million to renovate its exhibit space, and the city will spend $1.9 million to improve the shared space between Esports Stadium Arlington and the museum.
In 2023, the museum's attendance increased by 46% from 2021. Last summer, the “Taylor Swift: The Elus Tour Collection” exhibition broke the museum's attendance record.
“Over the past few years, the Arlington Museum of Art has honed its skills as a museum that never stops,” Hightower said. “Every three or four months, we replace the entire space with a completely new art exhibit. Now we have the opportunity to expand even further.”
Arlington receives more than 15 million visitors annually. The city's entertainment district amenities such as Globe Life Field, AT&T Stadium, Texas Live!, Loews Arlington Hotel, and Six Flags Over Texas all contribute to visitor numbers. Next year, the National Medal of Honor Museum is scheduled to open across the street from the Arlington Museum of Art.
“Don't blink because you're going to miss the development,” Mayor Jim Ross told The Arlington Report.
The museum will feature “Pompeii: The Immortal City” in traditional galleries, “One Point Five Degrees” in immersive galleries, and the 34th Annual Youth Arts Month showcasing works from Arlington ISD and Duncanville. The reopening began with three exhibitions. ISD students always have free exhibits in their community galleries.
Two days before the gallery opened, artwork created by Arlington ISD students lay on the floor, waiting to be hung on the walls. The museum has received about 650 to 700 pieces of art from elementary schools for Youth Art Month, said Viticia Williams, director of education.
Williams participated in Youth Art Month last year as an art teacher in Arlington ISD, and this year will be her first time working on an installation for a large-scale show. From my experience working in both fields, I can tell you that this year's Youth Art Month saw more art by students.
About 80% of the pieces arrived the day before.
“I'm not going to lie, the cell phones are on all the time, from 8 to 5 every hour. Every time someone shows up, we go get them or we go get them in,” Williams said. I did.
In June, the museum will complete its education center. This education center is his 3,300 square foot space with his four classrooms connected by a shared gallery. The space will be home to the museum's long-running summer art camp.
One of the best things about the new education center is having restrooms nearby, Williams said. Previously, students lost some class time because the restrooms were on a different floor.
This space will be one of the last to be finalized after the museum opens. Hevia's work since March 30 has been entirely behind the scenes and away from visitors, he said.
In the middle of our conversation, Hevia's phone rang – he was needed for another job.
Three days before the opening, he completed 39,700 steps in preparation for logistics.
Over the past 15 days, we were averaging about 26,000 cases per day.
“For me, apart from my children, grandchildren and new great-grandchildren, this museum will be my legacy for the rest of my life,” he said.
Dang Le is a reporter for the Fort Worth Report. To contact him, dang.le@fortworthreport.org or @DangHLe. At The Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independent of board members and financial supporters.Read more about our editorial independence policy here.