Preparing for a $70 million expansion, the Ackland Art Museum recently received its lead commitment for the project.
The $20 million grant from the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust honors Thomas S. “Tom” Kenan III and his nearly 50 years of dedication to the arts. According to a September 24 university release, the grant will help create a welcoming, central green space within the planned arts-focused district along the northern edge of UNC campus.
“We are deeply grateful to the Kenan Trust for this visionary grant in Tom Kenan’s honor,” Ackland Art Museum Director Shalini Le Gall said. “The Ackland is a gathering space for campus and community audiences, and this expansion will make it possible for us to engage an even broader public. Larger exhibitions, enhanced teaching and learning programs, and extended opportunities for research and collaborations will create the conditions for transformative encounters with art for generations to come.”
The total 40,000 square-foot expansion project is the museum’s first major upgrade in decades, UNC’s Board of Trustees approving the museum’s request for advance planning spending authority in July. Doubling its footprint will primarily tie together the stretch of campus that features the Ackland, the Hanes Arts Center, the Kenan Music building, and the on-campus performance venue Memorial Hall.
According to the release, the catalytic grant is a tribute to Kenan’s decades of leadership and impact on the arts at Carolina, citing the museum, Carolina Performing Arts, and the Kenan Music Scholars Program as ways in which his philanthropy has enriched arts education and experiences on campus.
“For nearly 50 years, Thomas S. Kenan III has provided generous and significant philanthropy to support excellence in the visual and performing arts on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus and beyond,” Executive director of the Kenan Charitable Trust Nancy J. Cable said. “Mr. Kenan has a steadfast appreciation for the arts as a vital component of a well-rounded education, and we are grateful that this grant will support increased access and exposure to the arts for the campus community, the town of Chapel Hill, and visitors from across the state and nation.”
Ackland’s 101 South Columbia Street location also presents an opportunity to strengthen the connection between campus and downtown Chapel Hill. The upcoming planning and design process will include engagement opportunities with campus and Chapel Hill stakeholders — during which, the university will also explore how the museum and Carolina’s arts organizations and resources can create an inviting gateway, encourage movement between campus and Franklin Street, and contribute to downtown’s cultural vitality.
Featured photo by Aaron Keck/Chapel Hill Media Group.
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UNC's Ackland Art Museum Receives Lead Grant for $70 Million Expansion ProjectPreparing for a $70 million expansion, the Ackland Art Museum recently received its lead commitment for the project.
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