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• IU Bloomington's Mathers Museum to temporarily close during summer for renovations

IU Bloomington's Mathers Museum to temporarily close during summer for renovations

• Feb. 14, 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University Bloomington’s Mathers Museum of World Cultures will temporarily close its exhibition hall this summer for renovations. The museum’s exhibitions will be closed May 8 through Aug. 14.

The renovations will include the installation of new state-of-the-art gallery lighting systems, as well as improved accessibility features. Enhancements and modernizations to the facility have been ongoing since 2014, while the museum remained open to the public. However, the scheduled summer work requires closing public spaces.

“With extensive renovations also beginning at the Eskenazi Museum of Art, the summer closing of the Mathers Museum of World Cultures will certainly impact Bloomington’s museum lovers. In both cases, though, the closures are for a good cause,” said Jason Baird Jackson, director of the Mathers Museum. “When we reopen for fall 2017, we think visitors will really enjoy a new exhibition season presented with beautiful new lighting. There is no doubt that the accessibility improvements being made at the Mathers Museum will make a big difference, making our museum more welcoming to all visitors.”

The renovations will enhance the museum's exhibition design and presentation, as well as its educational and public programming spaces. The accessibility improvements are the first phase in providing support for visitors with disabilities. Upgrades to public spaces and parking designations are also planned.

“I know the museum’s staff, students, faculty and visitors all share my appreciation for the ways the university continues to invest in the museum and its work as a public-facing research center for the humanities and social sciences,” Jackson said.

Despite the temporary closure of the exhibition hall, the museum will continue to present educational programs and exhibitions throughout the community, region and state through its Traditional Arts Indiana program. The program will feature travel exhibitions and host Indiana folk artists and folk arts presentations in state parks, public libraries, and fairs and festivals during the summer. The Traditional Arts Indiana program served over 350,000 Hoosiers last year through its traveling exhibits and programs.

Jackson said that other campus museums and exhibitions will still be open over the summer and that “many of our campus partners, including the Wylie House Museum and the Lilly Library, will continue to present outstanding exhibitions and programs for Bloomington museum-goers.”  

The Mathers Museum exhibition hall and museum store are open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, now through May 8. Admission is free. The museum, at 416 North Indiana Ave., will be closed March 13 to 20 during IU’s spring break.

For more information, email mathers@indiana.edu.