The world for Utah art lovers is going to grow a little smaller next year.
Starting Jan. 18 the Utah Museum of Fine Arts will close. This temporary shutdown, estimated to last between six months and a year, is due to a construction project that will improve the vapor barrier, which regulates the building’s humidity levels, protecting the art from mold or cracking from moisture.
Gretchen Dietrich, the museum’s executive director, said she and her staff plan to use the halt in “business as usual” to expand their displays and reinvent the ways visitors interact with the exhibits.
“We’re really committed to finding ways to make sure that the UMFA is the most friendly, the most welcoming [and] the most accessible museum,” Dietrich said. “I’m very convinced that if … people learn how to navigate and feel comfortable in a museum like ours, that’s a gift that we’re giving them for the rest of their lives.”
During the break, outside programming, such as “Third Saturday for Families” (to be in the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts and Education Complex) and the “Museum in the Classroom” will continue. The Marriot Library and the City Library will also host other events, such as “ArtLandish: Land Art, Landscape, and the Environment,” which will look at local art, such as Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty by the Great Salt Lake.
Dietrich said while the museum will have a presence in 2016, she thinks the time and energy of the staff is better spent focusing on reinventing the UMFA.
“I’m not terribly worried about it,” Dietrich said. “We are as important as Marriott Library is in supporting learning and research on the campus.”
One of the ways the UMFA is working to reinvent the visitor experience is through the help of the Kress Interpretive Fellowship, a program that helps museums present, share and teach about its collection. Emily Izzo, the U’s fellow, will work for a year creating ways the museum can incorporate new technology, such as smartphones, into its exhibits to increase interactivity and accessibility. Dietrich said having this help from the fellowship will help them provide information about the pieces in a fun and entertaining manner for both children and adults.
Mindy Wilson, museum spokesperson, said the new layout, along with any programs developed during the break, will be the first step in a much longer process. Not all of these projects will be up and running in 2017, but Wilson said the staff will be “rolling toward” getting them.
Wilson said the upgrade is purely to protect the building itself, as the current vapor barrier system places stress on the structure. None of the artifacts are in any danger, though.
Dietrich said the construction will take place in three phases to allow the museum to move art to different galleries to protect it during construction. She said by taking it in stages they will also hopefully be able to reopen the front part of the museum with the cafe for summer 2016.
The new vapor barrier will be a foam in the exterior wall that stops the museum’s humid air from leaking outside, and it will not be visible to visitors. But nearly all of the main galleries will get a new color of paint and the African collection will be prominently displayed for the first time in five years.
The university, donors and the state of Utah are helping to fund the approximately $2.5 million project. Dietrich said museum staff are trying to raise another $2 million to make other improvements to the facility and the presentation of collections during this time.
The UMFA will host a weekend-long free celebration before the closure called “Long Live Art!” on Dec. 16 and 17, which will feature events, such as museum basement tours, a dance party and movie screenings.
@Ehmannky