The Fine Arts Building and David Owsley Museum of Art will soon undergo a renovation project that will add additional areas to display art galleries.
Peter Blume, art museum director, said the artwork going on display isn't necessarily going to be new material to Ball State.
"Most of the material going on exhibition has probably never been seen before although it's been here for many years," Blume said. "For lack of exhibition space, it's been kept in storage."
The renovations will take place on the second floor. Blume said the project would not be paid for by student's tuition contribution but from private sources.
"This was part of the Ball State Bold Campaign. The lead gift came from Rich and Dorothy Burkhardt. [Rich] was a former president of the university," he said. "Other major gifts came from a number of members of the Ball family."
Jim Lowe, director of Facilities Planning and Management said the plans had actually been in motion for some time.
"We have decided to make an award to send on to the finance department to send a letter of intent and we hope next week we're meeting with that company," Lowe said. "We will be able to get them started on the project because the intent is to have their work completed ... by the first of February 2013."
Blume said there are already plans for the new renovated galleries upon completion.
"This will all take place on the second floor and it will incorporate the extreme eastern and western ends of the building," he said. "In the east for Asian and the western end for collections of ethnographic art, including Native American art, art from Mesoamerica, Africa and Pacific Islands."
The space freed up for the new galleries now consist of offices and storage areas which will be converted in the process.
"That means systems will be changed, the lighting system will be changed to accommodate the fact that painting and other types of artwork will be shown in those spaces so it will take a different type of lighting and then the ventilation system has to be changed because we have to control the environment," Lowe said. "It's not only an architectural rework of the spaces, but it's also changing the mechanical and electrical systems to accommodate the fact that it will be a museum of art."
During the time of the renovations, the museum will still be open in certain areas, Blume said.
"The museum's core installation, the sculpture court and the essentially European and American works of art in the galleries that surround the sculpture court on the main floor will remain open," he said.
Blume said he hopes that the new look will bring in more guests to view the exhibits and that they will notices the changes to the galleries on display.
"There's a notion that museums are static places but in fact they're constantly changing," he said.
The completion is slated for later in the Spring Semester - just in time for graduation.
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