Museum to open at Michigan State University in spring 2012
Photo: Derrick L. Turner, Michigan State University
The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, a new Zaha Hadid-designed contemporary art museum at Michigan State University, is on schedule to open to the public in late spring 2012. Dedicated to exploring global contemporary culture and ideas through art, MSU’s Broad Art Museum will serve as both an educational resource for the campus community and a cultural hub for the central Michigan region. The museum is named in honor of Eli and Edythe Broad, longtime supporters of the university who contributed $28 million for the museum.

Photo: Derrick L. Turner, Michigan State UniversityMSU’s Broad Art Museum is envisioned as a center for questioning and understanding the modern world through engagement with artists and artwork from around the globe. The museum will present contemporary works within a historical context through access to a study collection of more than 7,500 objects, ranging from the Greek and Roman periods to modern art, from the university’s existing Kresge Art Museum, whose collection will be transferred to the Broad Art Museum at MSU.

Designed by Zaha Hadid, the 46,000-square-foot Broad Art Museum at MSU will feature a striking façade of pleated stainless steel and glass, distinguishing the new building from the traditional brick Collegiate Gothic north campus, and signalling the museum and the university’s forward-looking approach. Seventy percent of the space will be devoted to art display, including areas for special exhibitions, modern and contemporary art, new media, photography and works on paper.
The facility will also include an education wing, a works on paper study center, shop and café. Adjacent to the museum will be an expansive outdoor sculpture garden and a large pedestrian plaza. Located at one of the main entrances to campus at the corner of Grand River Avenue and Farm Lane, the Broad Art Museum will serve as a gateway between the university and the East Lansing community.
MSU’s Broad Art Museum will fulfill its dual role as a teaching institution and as a cultural hub for the region through a program of original and traveling exhibitions, initiatives with living artists, performances, and educational offerings for students, faculty and the community. By facilitating exploration of contemporary ideas and global issues across disciplines through the lens of the artist’s gaze, the museum will serve as an academic resource and a center for student and public engagement, enjoyment and multidisciplinary learning.

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