The McMaster Museum of Art (MMA) will be temporarily closing March 19 – August 23, 2019 during a major overhaul of the Museum’s environmental systems. During the closure, Museum staff will be taking programming ‘to the streets’ with a series of free education programs and public art commissions.

“After 25 years in this building, upgrades are inevitable,” says MMA Director Carol Podedworny, “and this is a big one. We were fortunate to be able to remain open during recent updates to lighting, security and storage. That said, we’re seizing this one-time opportunity to pursue ambitious community projects, ones that our small staff has never been able to pursue before.”

ABOUT THE CLOSURE

The Museum is responsible for the care and preservation of more than 6,000 objects and must maintain specific temperature and relative humidity in all areas where the art is housed. To ensure the environmental safety of the art collection during the shutdown, storage spaces will be temporarily managed by mobile units. While the building is essentially sealed, access will be restricted to staff only. Museum Office hours will be Mon 8 am – 4 pm, Tue – Fri 8 am – 5 pm.

McMaster Museum of Art is a Category “A” cultural institution as designated by the Government of Canada. This designation is given to public, charitable organizations with proven professional capacity to preserve their collections for the long term. It also qualifies the Museum to borrow art and exhibitions from other Category “A” or equivalent institutions worldwide.

PROGRAMMING DURING THE CLOSURE

In addition to several internal research and operational projects, Education staff are developing a number of free programs on and off campus. Early planning stages include In-School Art Programs in elementary and high school classrooms across the Golden Horseshoe, Campus Art & Architecture Walking Tours, Outdoor Sketching activities, Online Art lessons and more. In addition to internal research and operational projects, Curatorial staff will be embarking on a significant public art commissioning project for the Museum. Details to be announced soon.

The Museum will reopen in time to greet returning students with a stunning exhibition, celebrating the return of McMaster’s popular Levy collection from its cross-country tour.