The CMA went through extensive renovations in 2018 to provide more galleries, more studios, more spaces for programs, and a new entrance on Main Street.
As you can imagine, it was quite a lot of work to protect priceless works of art during the construction! Read on for a behind-the-scenes look at what was involved in this massive transformation.
We wanted the museum to be more appealing to a wider audience: not just art lovers, but folks who don't think of themselves as "museum people."
We've added new spaces for interactive play and reimagined the entire layout of the museum with our guests in mind. Grab a portable, foldable stool to take a load off.
We're hoping the new CMA will be the heart of the downtown community, and a special place where everyone can laugh, play, and learn.
We're reconceptualizing all of the collection galleries, so you'll see some new and different art up on the walls when they reopen later this year.
Some of those works, while beautiful, needed new frames. Enter CMA exhibition preparator Laura Hine. In this CMA Story we get an in-depth look at the painstaking process behind her efforts to restore an antique gilt frame to its former glory.
“A lot of people are intimidated by an art museum. They really feel like they’re supposed to have a PhD in art history to walk in, but that’s not what a museum is supposed to be. We want you to be able to relax, have a good time, be playful, be curious.”
-Joelle Ryan Cook, CMA Deputy Director
One way we're making the museum more accessible to everyone is through our reorganization of the collection. Rather than organizing the art in a traditional way, by time periods or geography, we have grouped items together by theme for a more creative viewing experience. We hope that our interesting thematic groupings, like "Spiritual Beings," will keep you moving through the galleries, wondering what's around the next corner.
Who's this guy? Lokapala is a Buddhist protector spirit, invoked to remove obstacles to practice.
Anonymous; Kay Butler Bachmann; Mr. and Mrs. Joseph R. Blanchard; Dr. Suzan D. Boyd and Mr. M. Edward Sellers; BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina; Mr. and Mrs. C. Carroll Heyward; Mrs. Joyce Martin Hill; The Estate of Dr. Nicholas K. Moore; The Estate of Ms. Leona Sobel; State of South Carolina
Lucy Hampton Bostick Residuary Charitable Trust; The Darnall W. and Susan F. Boyd Foundation, Inc.; Mr. and Mrs. Mike Brenan; The Estate of Ethel S. Brody; Jennifer Dumont and David Pankau; Toni M. and Sam Elkins; Nancy Gibbes; Mr. and Mrs. John S. Hill; Dr. Jessica Kross; Ms. Ada H. McIver; Mr. and Mrs. Stephen G. Morrison; Ms. Virginia E. Newell and Mr. Robert H. Wilkins; Mr. and Mrs. Edward M. Ringley; Hannah and Ronald Rogers Fund of Central Carolina Community Foundation; SCANA; Susan Thorpe and John Baynes
Mr. and Mrs. George S. Bailey; Edwin Betsill Charitable Remainder Unitrust; Dr. and Mrs. Scott B. Boyd; Rachel Chapman; Colonial Life; Ann and Steve Holtschlag; William R. Horton and Mary R. Major Family Fund of Central Carolina Community Foundation; In Memory of Nicholas K. Moore; Dorothy D. Smith Charitable Foundation; Mr. and Mrs. Claude M. Walker, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Gayle O. Averyt; Bank of America; Mr. and Mrs. Luther J. Battiste, III; Mrs. Barbara B. Boyd; Karen Brosius and Willson Powell; Karen and David Dukes; Becky and Earl Ellis; Claire and Wilson Farrell; First Citizens Bank; Pat and Tom Fortson; Mr. Robert W. Foster, Sr.; Dr. and Mrs. Benjamin M. Gimarc; Governor and Mrs. James H. Hodges; Bruce Hughes; Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Kennedy, Jr.; Cathy and Lex Knox; Mr. Raymond Thomas Lange; Lipscomb Family Foundation; McGuireWoods Consulting; Ms. Jodie W. McLean and Mr. Pierre de Lucy; Michel and Whit Moore; Osceola Foundation, Inc.; Mrs. Susan Gibbes Robinson; Mr. and Mrs. Cary K. Smith; Kit and Joel A. Smith; Ann Marie Stieritz and John Carran; Mr. and Mrs. Mark S. Thomas; Robert Y. Turner; Brenda and Rick Wheeler
Dr. Alice Kasakoff Adams; Estate of Dr. John W. Adams; Mr. Carroll L. Allen; Gail and Steven Anastasion; Baker & Baker Foundation; Mary and Clinch Belser; In Memory of Ethel S. Brody; Cookie Cloyd; Dr. and Mrs. Allen Coles; Margo Newton and Thomas E. Collins; Katherine and Clarence Davis; JoAnne Day; Margaret Anne and Theodore DuBose; The Honorable and Mrs. Kirkman Finlay, III; Mr. Steven Ford and Mr. Alonso Cuellar; Mr. and Mrs. Kester S. Freeman, Jr.; Denisa and Craig Garner; Mr. and Mrs. J. Aaron Gilchrist; Miss Elizabeth B. Glazebrook; Dr. Anna S. Griswold; Virginia Grose; Mr. and Mrs. George S. King, Jr.; Ms. D. Delores Logan; Cathy and Mike Love; Mr. and Mrs. Scott McClelland; Sam E. McCuen; Mr. and Mrs. Duncan S. McIntosh; Ms. Shirley D. Mills and Mr. Heyward Bannister; Judith Lesesne Monteith; Brandolyn and Jerome Pinkston; Dorothy A. Poston; Sidney and Ben Rex; Mr. and Mrs. T. Russell Rooney; Mr. William C. Schmidt, Jr.; Wendy and Terry Schmoyer; Dr. and Mrs. Stephen F. Serbin; Anne Sinclair and Julian Ruffin; Mary Mazzola Spivey and Preston Spivey; Dr. and Mrs. Gene W. Stuart; E. Katherine Wells and James Flanagan; Wilson Kibler, Inc.; Ms. Isvara Wilson; Workman Family Charitable Trust
