More than millennium of history, nearly two years of renovation and three different departments are stacked inside the Ball State Museum of Art. Within the next five months, the renovation will end.
Sticking with the original design theme of the building, Alain Joyaux, museum director, anticipates a continuous look for the museum once it is finished.
"It'll still be a wonderfully designed building that works well with art," Joyaux said. "We're hoping the added space will make it seem like a bigger museum, not a different museum."
Limited display space inhibited the museum's ability to present visitors with a complete view of art history, Joyaux said. Now with 8,550 square feet of additional space, he believes the museum will provide visitors with a better overall experience.
"With more of a collection on display, we're hoping there's more of an additive value," Joyaux said. "A collection of a whole is more than the sum of its parts. To present more of our collection will tell more of the (art's) whole story."
Some of the other changes include humidity, lighting, temperature and ventilation controls to protect the museum's 11,000-piece collection.
The museum is not the only inhabitant of the three-story structure. The recently relocated Department of Geology resides on the first floor, and the Department of Social Work fills the second. The two departments lacked room in their prior buildings - North Quadrangle and Cooper Science Complex, respectively.
Geology professor Scott Rice-Snow anticipates utilizing the new location for more artistic approaches. The department is planning an upcoming photo exhibit accentuating geologists' use of visual display.
"We're trying to achieve more synergy with the museum function of the building," Rice-Snow said. "So far, we're not in direct coordination with the art museum, but I wouldn't be surprised if we do in the future. Right now we're trying to put some quality public exhibits on the first floor."
The museum's attendance has plummeted since work began in May 2000. Recently, however, visitation has increased, according to museum visitor assistant John Marron.
"Some days it'll be slow," Marron said. "For example, maybe one person will come in all day, but it's picked up in the last few weeks."
Following May commencement, the museum will close to display more of its collection. Joyaux believes it is impractical to keep the museum open while moving everything around.
Citing a sense of closure, Joyaux also said closing the museum for the summer is the best course of action before the grand reopening ceremony scheduled for the second week in September.
"To open just one gallery at a time, you don't get a before-and-after feel," Joyaux said. "We want to reopen all of it at once to say, 'You saw the old, and here's the new.'"
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