Springfield Art Museum setting up temporary home in Wilhoit Plaza 

RELATED

Museum renovation aims for harmony with nature, neighborhood

When the Springfield Art Museum closes at 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 1, it will remain that way through a three-year renovation project that will break ground in January. 

At a public announcement Saturday, museum Director Nick Nelson said the work of the museum will continue at a temporary location in Wilhoit Plaza, located at 431 S. Jefferson Ave. in downtown Springfield. 

“We’re deeply committed to continuing the museum’s arts, education and outreach efforts in Springfield and across the region, even while the main facility is closed for construction,” Nelson said. 

Nelson noted the Wilhoit building was the second location for the museum after it was established in 1928. Its first was the Midtown Carnegie Branch Library, which it occupied for only a year before outgrowing the space. 

In an early example of a public-private partnership, one of the museum’s founders, Della Wilhoit, offered the use of six rooms in her newly constructed building, erected in 1926, rent free. One of the first exhibitions held there attracted over 1,500 people in its first week, and a newspaper article at the time noted many school children were visiting the exhibition voluntarily, Nelson said.  

“It was in the Wilhoit building that the first work of art acquired by the museum was displayed and where we established our commitment to partnership with local artists,” he said. “Returning to the Wilhoit building is a testament to our value principle over the next few years, which is deepening our roots.” 

Nelson told Springfield Business Journal the museum would be renting approximately 6,800 square feet of space at a gross annual rent rate of $15.75 per square foot. The rental lease agreement is with Wilhoit Plaza L and P LLC. 

In an interview after his remarks to the public, Nelson said the space would not be used to store or display art from the museum’s collection. 

“The space is really going to be a platform for programming and community connection,” he said. “We are excited about being part of First Friday Art Walk and doing classes and other programs in the space, but our art is going into storage.” 

He noted art requires archival conditions that would be expensive to achieve in the temporary location. 

“The decision was made rather to outlay that expense for the next couple of years to really focus on community engagement and education,” he said. “Every dollar spent matters, and we feel that it’s a good stewardship move.” 

He added that the space affords the museum staff with the chance to experiment and do different things. 

“It provides a little bit of flexibility when you don’t have to manage the security and the archival needs of art and do all of that and to do something a little different and off the wall,” he said. 

The museum attracted 65,000 visitors in 2019, and officials project that it can top 100,000 after the renovation and expansion. Nelson said that estimate is based on an examination of benchmark museums in other cities – he cited Albuquerque, New Mexico, Knoxville, Tennessee, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, as three of these – and also on attendance figures at other local institutions. 

“That is a number we’ve landed on as a goal,” he said. 

Campaign progress 
Saturday’s announcement also revealed the museum’s 2028 capital campaign is at 75% of its goal. 

So far, the museum has raised more than $38 million of its $50 million target through public and private giving, officials said. 

In remarks on Saturday, Mayor Ken McClure outlined some of the donations: 

• $15 million – city of Springfield bond issues
• $10 million – state of Missouri appropriations
• $5 million – Sunderland Foundation of Overland Park, Kansas
• $3 million – city of Springfield allocation of American Rescue Plan Act funds
• $2.75 million – Missouri Department of Economic Development local tourism asset development allocation
• $2.57 million – private support from nearly 100 individuals, corporations and foundations

McClure said the museum advances multiple priorities identified within the Forward SGF comprehensive plan as it improves quality of life for residents and quality of experience for visitors. A few of the priorities the museum’s renovation and expansion will help to meet include maximizing land use and development, creating economic development, making capital and infrastructure improvements, investing in natural resources, and preserving and highlighting culture and historic resources, he said. 

“It’s a critical cultural tourism asset, it helps to create a well-rounded environment, and it makes Springfield a desirable place to live, a desirable place to learn, a desirable place to work and a desirable place to play,” McClure said.  

New mission and strategic plan
Also at Saturday’s event, the museum announced its new mission statement, as well as its vision and values. 

The mission is as follows: “The Springfield Art Museum fosters creativity, inspires wonder and cultivates a deeper understanding of our shared human experience through meaningful engagement with art.” 

“Art doesn’t exist just to hang on a wall,” said Kate Francis, museum affairs officer, in an interview with SBJ. “It’s there to elicit an emotion and to encourage people to be curious about learning new things. It’s an aspect of humanity that we want to embrace.” 

The museum’s vision states, “The Springfield Art Museum is a leading cultural center that champions expression, innovation and appreciation of art for all.” 

The five-year strategic plan is guided by three values: respect, equity and community. The priorities of the plan are identified as transformation, community engagement and capacity building.