BUFFALO (WBEN) - The Albright-Knox Art Gallery unveiled designs for its AK360 Expansion Project on Thursday morning, and announced that the facility will have to shut down for two years during construction.
"Trying to operate here during construction would not be very welcoming to our visitors," said Janne Siren, Albright Knox Director. "We did some studies about it, and it would significantly extend the construction period and would probably drive up costs by 20- to 30-percent."
The Elmwood campus will close down when construction begins later this year, and the construction period is expected to last 22 to 25 months.
The @AlbrightKnox announces several aspects of the AK360 expansion project. They’re planning an indoor town square and community workspace, an Art Truck that will travel through the region and provide classes, and a project space at the Northland Training Center. @NewsRadio930 pic.twitter.com/BP4z2Pe7xO
— Brendan Keany (@BrendanKeany)
April 11, 2019 "We've reached a major milestone,"said Siren. "We've been able to share the 50-percent design development renderings. We also shared the proposal for a covered indoor town square - a sculptural artwork - that would allow this currently open area sculpture garden become a year-round social space for our community."
Albright-Knox Northland
Starting in early 2020, the museum will operate Albright-Knox Northland, a 15,000-square-foot space at 612 Northland Avenue in Buffalo, where it will host a range of exhibitions, performances, and special events. The facility is located in the Northland Corridor currently being developed by the Buffalo Urban Development Corporation, near the Northland Workforce Training Center. Programming at Albright-Knox Northland will be announced in the coming months and is supported by a leadership gift from M&T Bank.
Public Art Initiative
Since its inception in 2014 through an innovative partnership with the County of Erie and the City of Buffalo, the widely popular Public Art Initiative has brought more than thirty murals and projects to the region. During the construction phase of AK360, the scope of the program will increase and an increasing number of works by local, national, and international artists will be placed across the city and county. The museum will announce some of the projects planned for 2019 in late spring.
Art Truck
Beginning in the spring of 2020, the museum will launch Albright-Knox Art Truck, a mobile center that will drive creativity throughout Western New York and provide an array of art activities, classes, and projects for people of all ages. The Art Truck is presented by BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York.
On Saturday, April 13, from 10 am to noon, the community is invited to share their thoughts about the new Indoor Town Square concept with museum staff who will be on hand to receive feedback and answer any questions.
