A new era for visual arts in Arlington begins
Starting today (March 30, 2024), the Arlington Museum of Art is poised to attract art lovers and high-profile exhibitions from around the globe from its new home in the Arlington Entertainment District.
The museum, a cultural destination in downtown Arlington for more than 30 years, began its search a couple of years ago for a larger, more flexible space that would allow it to accommodate a wider variety of exhibits and educational offerings. Through a special use agreement approved by the Arlington City Council in April 2023, the AMA took that next step and moved to the City’s Esports Stadium and Expo Center at 1200 Ballpark Way, located next to the future National Medal of Honor Museum (which opens in 2025).
Under the agreement with the City of Arlington, the museum is a designated “super user” of the Expo Center. The agreement provides the Arlington Museum of Art with over 40,000 square feet of flexible exhibition space, compared to the 5,500 square feet of its previous downtown location, a repurposed JCPenney store originally built in the 1950s.
“We are so grateful to the City of Arlington for recognizing that investing in the arts means investing in economic prosperity,” Hightower said. “Our new location will allow the museum to not only serve our community but attract up to $38 million annually in non-local spending by 2028.”
“The new AMA footprint is nearly eight times larger than our previous one,” Hightower continued, “allowing us to blend traditional, immersive, interactive and evolving art forms in ways that will inspire, entertain, engage and reflect our community and our world.”
World-class art on the world stage
As an art museum that has always used its entire space to host special exhibits, rather than display a permanent collection, the Arlington Museum of Art has built a reputation for attracting private collections and curating exhibitions that are diverse, relevant, and sometimes surprising. The museum’s Summer 2023 exhibit, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour Collection, broke records previously set by Keith Haring: Against All Odds, 30 Americans, A Knight’s Tale, and Disney Art from Private Collections.
“In the last few years, the Arlington Museum of Art has honed its skills as a museum that never stands still,” said Chris Hightower, President and CEO of the Arlington Museum of Art. “Every three to four months, we transform our entire space with completely new art exhibitions. Now we have an opportunity to scale way up.”
Arlington attracts more than 15.1 million visitors each year thanks largely to amenities within the Arlington Entertainment District, including Globe Life Field, AT&T Stadium, Texas Live!, Loews Arlington Hotel, Six Flags Over Texas, and now the Arlington Museum of Art.
“The momentum we have seen in Arlington’s Entertainment District over the last five years has been incredible, which is one of the primary reasons this is such a great fit for the Arlington Museum of Art,” said Jay Warren, immediate past chair for the museum’s board of directors. “There is a great synergy here. The AMA will be in a higher visibility location to attract more visitors which will enable us to bring in higher caliber exhibits. At the same time, the museum’s programming will offer Arlington’s visitors with another option, expanding The District’s offerings.”
Phase I and II
The evolution of the Arlington Museum of Art inside the Expo Center is taking place in phases.
Phase I interior improvements to the Expo Center began in October 2023 and will be complete before the end of 2024. As part of the agreement with the City of Arlington, the AMA is investing approximately $2.9 million to make interior improvements to the Expo Center, transforming its footprint with massive galleries, an education center, board room, gift shop, and guest services.
In Phase II, the City plans to allocate approximately $1.9 million to improve the shared corridor between the Esports Stadium and the museum, as well as the western façade of the building.
Opening Day
When the Arlington Museum of Art opened to the public on March 30, the stars of the show are three unique art exhibitions that showcase the museum’s stature on the world art stage as well as its commitment to local and emerging artists.
“We chose our opening exhibits specifically and strategically to help us begin to demonstrate the capabilities of our new exhibition spaces,” Hightower said, “while remaining true to our mission to serve and reflect our community.”
- Pompeii: The Immortal City will debut the AMA’s Traditional Gallery
- One Point Five Degrees, an AMA collaboration with Fort Worth-based artist Adam Fung and Canadian artist Sabrina Ratté, will debut the museum’s four Immersive Galleries
- The 34th annual Youth Art Month show will debut the AMA’s Community Gallery
In addition to opening these galleries and exhibitions, a new Guest Services area, Gift Shop, and Board Room also debuted on March 30.
At 2:00 p.m. on March 30, the museum hosted a free lecture by Giovanni Di Pasquale, curator of Pompeii: The Immortal City, as a part of its Articulate Art Talk lecture series. Click for more information.
Inside the new Arlington Museum of Art
Traditional Gallery: The Traditional Gallery is divided into a number of smaller gallery rooms, giving visitors a sense of discovery as they make their way through exhibitions. The gallery rooms also make the larger space feel more intimate, bringing visitors and the artwork close together. Altogether, the Traditional Gallery is over 12,000 square feet, a capacity that can accommodate a wide variety of traditional and interactive art exhibitions.
As for the definition of “traditional” art? “To us, traditional art is an art form that is an established part of a culture, with skills and knowledge passed down through generations of artists,” said Kendall Quirk, Director of Exhibitions. “Traditional art media are those that people typically expect to see when they visit an art museum, such as painting, sculpture, textile, photography, ceramics, clay, glass, ink, etc.”
Immersive Galleries: In the four Immersive Galleries, the AMA aims to curate multisensory experiences that envelop viewers within the artwork itself. A unique blend of art and technology, the defining features of the immersive art installations at the AMA include originality, artistry, and meticulous design. Altogether, the AMA Immersive Galleries provide nearly 21,000 square feet of exhibit space with walls that are 18 feet tall.
Black Box: A black box theater, a modern concept for live performance venues, is a simple space with black walls and a flat floor. Its simplicity allows it to be used to create a variety of configurations of stage and audience interaction. The AMA Black Box, which is designed to be set up inside Immersive Gallery #3 on the northeast side, offers theatre-style “in the round” riser seating for up to 300 people, giving the space enormous range, flexibility, and programming potential.
Community Gallery: Through an ambitious rotation of curated exhibits and related programs, the Community Gallery at the AMA provides a platform for emerging and established artists to showcase their unique perspectives and talents. Admission to the 5,000 square foot Community Gallery is always free. “The Community Gallery has the heart of a local art gallery and the soul of a community gathering place,” said Natalie Neale, AMA Assistant Director of Exhibitions. “Celebrating diversity and encouraging artistic expression are the driving forces behind it.”
Board Room: The Arlington Museum of Art Board of Directors, which meets in the Board Room, is a group of DFW-area community leaders, artists, educators, entrepreneurs, and art enthusiasts. With a 48-person seating capacity, the Board Room has the flexibility to accommodate meetings as well as art talks and other community activities.
Guest Services and Gift Shop: Upon entering the Expo Center, the Arlington Museum of Art is immediately to the left. Just inside the glass doors, Guest Services provides box office support and information about exhibitions and upcoming events. Directly behind Guest Services is the AMA Gift Shop.
Click here for more information.
Coming Soon
Even after the Arlington Museum of Art opens on March 30, transformations will continue. Construction of the Education Center will be complete by June. The museum will also continue to envision possibilities for the Grand Hallway which connects the Traditional and Immersive galleries, and by Fall it will launch new educational and community-centered programs.
Education Center and Gallery: When it opens, the new AMA Education Center will be home to the museum’s long-running Summer Art Camp, as well as DIY workshops for adults, children, and families. The Education Center will have just over 3,300 square feet of dedicated learning space, including four classrooms connected by a shared gallery. The Education Gallery capacity will be 100 people, and each classroom can seat 30 people.
Arlington Museum of Art
Opening Exhibitions
March 30 – June 23, 2024
Pompeii: The Immortal City in the AMA Traditional Gallery
One Point Five Degrees in the AMA Immersive Galleries
and
March 30 – May 3, 2024
34th Annual Youth Art Month show in the Community Gallery
New Location
1200 Ballpark Way
Arlington, TX 76011
817-275-4600
arlingtonmuseum.org
Museum Hours
Tuesday-Saturday: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sunday: 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Monday: Closed
Tickets
Available only on the AMA Etix site
Parking and More Visitor Information
arlingtonmuseum.org/visitor-info
