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Renovated and Activity Space added, July 2018
Graphic Design by Allison Bowers
In 2014 the Indianapolis Museum of Art opened their groundbreaking Contemporary Design Arts galleries. This opening was the culmination of a three-year, multi-phase renovation project. Spanning nearly 10,000 square feet, these galleries were formerly devoted to the IMA's African Arts collection. In 2013, that collection was moved to their newly renovated galleries and we gutted their former space to begin work on the new Contemporary Design Arts galleries. This addition to the IMA’s permanent collection is one of the largest displays of contemporary design in the world.
In 2018, the Contemporary Design Galleries were renovated in order to re-organize the art objects into thematic groupings rather than the previous chronologically organized display. During this renovation, in addition to adding in-gallery hands-on activities, a storage space was also converted into a Design Thinking activity space featuring 4 hands-on activities that lead guests through the design process. Alterations were made to platforms within the gallery in order to help the space flow better and objects were thinned out after audience studies found our guests were overwhelmed with the previous installation. Finally, a timeline display of objects spanning the years of 1900-1980 was added to the entrance hallway in order to span the gap between the IMA’s Decorative Arts collection and it’s incredible collection of Contemporary Design.
All images depict the 2018 Gallery renovation.