The Wildling Art Museum will get some much needed elbow room. It’s moving in January from the historic Keenan-Hartley House behind Mattei’s Tavern, which has been its home for the past eight years, to a new building in Los Olivos next to Corner House Coffee, at 2928 San Marcos Ave.
Museum representatives said the move will allow for more space for fine art exhibitions, an education center, a library, and an expanded gift shop. It will also allow for housing the administrative offices in the same building, which currently isn’t the case. Because of the museum’s proximity to the center of town, representatives expect more drop-in visitors and to double museum attendance within two years.
The new building was built by Lowell Lash, and the museum has arranged a long-term lease for all of the ground floor and 1,000 square feet of the second floor.
The museum has also launched a $1 million “Stepping Up!” campaign to pay for buildout and rent for the first five years, plus $300,000 of endowment to be used for future capital needs. To date, the museum has raised $650,000.
The museum will hold an open house in the middle of January, with an official public opening party on Feb. 8. The initial exhibition will feature California Impressionist paintings from 1900 to 1930, and is titled “The Land of Sunshine: Paintings from The Irvine Museum Collection.”
For more information, call 688-1082 or visit wildlingmuseum.org.
Arts Editor Shelly Cone compiles Arts Briefs. Send items for consideration to scone@ santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Dec 18-25, 2008.
