Public invited to see building plans at Chazen town hall meeting

The Chazen Museum of Art Chazen Museum of Art invites the community to a town hall meeting to view plans for the museum’s building expansion.

Meet the architects from Machado and Silvetti Associates and Continuum Architects + Planners, see the latest concept designs and floor plans, and hear how the Chazen will grow to bring more of its collection, programming and temporary exhibitions to the public.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18, in Room L140 of the Chazen.

The Chazen’s permanent collection of more than 18,000 art objects is the second largest in Wisconsin. The new museum building will add approximately 70,000 square feet, including gallery space, object study rooms, storage for artwork and a 160-seat auditorium for lectures and films. The design vision will create a world-class museum that fully integrates the existing museum, the addition and new outdoor spaces at the gateway to the east campus arts district.

In May 2005, UW–Madison alumni Simona and Jerome Chazen donated a visionary lead gift of $20 million toward the museum expansion. In addition to the Chazens’ gift, several donors have pledged their support, and the museum has commitments of $31 million toward its $40 million goal. The entire cost of the building project will be met through gifts and grants from private sources; no tax-derived state funding will be used to complete the expansion. Groundbreaking is expected in early 2009, with building completion in early 2011.