Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts reopens after $142M sustainable renovation by Studio Gang

The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in Little Rock reopens on April 22, 2023, following a $142 million renovation led by Studio Gang, with local firm Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects and landscape architecture firm SCAPE. The project, funded through the 'Reimagining the Arkansas Arts Center: Campaign for our Cultural Future' campaign, unifies disparate buildings constructed between the 1930s and 2000s under a new undulating concrete roof canopy. New spaces include a wing for the permanent collection (featuring works by Picasso, Redon, Rembrandt, Degas, and Signac watercolors), the Cultural Living Room (a glass-walled hall for temporary exhibitions and events), a 250-square-meter restaurant with a patio overlooking the park, and a 1,000-square-meter public plaza for concerts and performances facing the restored 1937 Art Deco limestone facade. The surrounding 11-acre park, redesigned by SCAPE, adds 700 linear meters of pedestrian paths, custom concrete benches, a new grove, 250 additional trees, and native sandstone flower beds echoing the roof shape. Sustainable features include a rainwater collection system for irrigation and bioswales for stormwater management. Studio Gang founder Jeanne Gang stated the project strengthens the museum's role as a cultural hub, opening the building to the city and landscape.