The Allen Memorial Art Museum will close for the summer starting May 27 in the lead up to the completion of Oberlin College and Conservatory’s Sustainable Infrastructure Program (SIP), according to a news release.
This project will transition the campus to a geothermal heating and cooling system and bring it within sight of the goal of attaining carbon neutrality by 2025, the release said.
During the closure, the Allen will have the opportunity to make key upgrades throughout its galleries, according to the release.
“In the meantime, we invite you to explore the museum digitally with Allen Augmented Reality (amam.oberlin.edu/aar) for virtual tours and the Allen App (amam.oberlin.edu/app) with content on many objects,” the release said. “Join our email list (amam.oberlin.edu/e-news) for updates on our progress, reopening date and upcoming events.”
For more than a century, the Allen has promoted the study of original works of art.
Always free to the public, the museum has strong holdings in American, Asian, European and global contemporary art, with smaller but impressive collections of African, ancient, Indigenous American and Islamic art.
The Allen’s collection of more than 15,000 works is recognized among the top academic art museums in the nation.
The 1917 building designed by Cass Gilbert, an architect known for the Woolworth Building in New York City and the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., engages the vocabulary of Tuscan Renaissance architecture to evoke inspirational art of the past.
A 1977 addition by Robert Venturi became one of the finest and earliest examples of postmodern architecture in the United States.
“We look forward to welcoming visitors back to a refreshed museum in the fall,” the release said.
