KANSAS CITY, Mo. — What people view as art is always changing.
Whether it's a classic impressionist painting, or a tall structure on the lawn of Kansas City's Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, beauty lies in the eyes of more beholders every year.
That's why the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is thinking outside the box for an expansion that will house the institution's ever-growing collection of art.
"It's very exciting; I can't wait to see what they come up with," said Mandy Stone, executive vice president for the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
More than 600,000 people visit the Nelson-Atkins every year.
In the day and age of social media, more people are turning to digital forms of art work and pushing the idea of what museums consider art.
"We are just having so much trouble keeping up with the demand," Stone said. "The new ideas, the new types of art, the new mediums that we're seeing, we really need some new spaces."
The Nelson-Atkins wants to add a photography center, interactive exhibits, a renovated library reading room, a new restaurant, and a black box theater that's meant for everyone, from the critics to the pupils.
"I think a lot about our different audiences and attracting people who haven't been here before, thinking about the next generation and what they're expecting out of an art museum," Stone said. "It's really making sure that everybody feels like this is their place, their museum, and they can see themselves here."
We don't know what the new building would look like just yet, because it's a competition among the hundreds of architectural firms who have expressed interest in the project.
Museum leaders think it may go on the west side of the institution, but they're leaving it up to the architects to use the entire campus as a canvas.
"We thought a competition would really help us get a diversity of architectural firms from all across the world that we might not have even heard of and then narrow them down for the best fit," Stone said.
The design ideas are the first step of the $170 million project.
From there, the museum will pick five finalists who will showcase their work in the spring.
"We hope that by expanding our building we'll be able to welcome even more people," Stone said.
The deadline for the first stage design responses is Oct. 29.
—
KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne reports on stories about government accountability. Share your story idea with Isabella.
