Oklahoma City Museum of Art

[Rover]

I think the Pompeii exhibit is nearly over, so hurry to see it. It ends in October.

For all art lovers, if you get a chance, go to Dallas to see the Van Gogh immersion exhibit at the Lighthouse. It is incredible and well worth it. It is unlike any art experience and helps you see what the artist was seeing in his visions as objects of his painting. It is a trip into his inner mind. It is not an exhibition of his paintings though, so don't expect to see his actual paintings. Don't know how much longer it is on. You have to reserve tickets and they sell out on weekends. Dallas is the closest of the cities where it appears.

[Plutonic Panda]

Rover, thank you for the Van Gogh information I had no idea it was even a thing. I went to their website(I’ll link it on this reply) and I see they are going to Vegas. I’m about to go to canyonlands and I’m definitely going to hit up the Vegas exhibit on my way to LA I’m super excited for that!

Also thanks for the heads up about the ending dates of Pompeii exhibit. Hopefully I’ll make it there tomo.

Here’s a link for more information about the Van Gogh:

https://vangoghexpo.com/

[Pete]

The museum just acquired the old First National/First Interstate/Bank of America drive-thru.

I know they have been working on an expansion for some time. I suspect when that happens, there would have to be some sort of skywalk over Robert S Kerr.

[king183]

I’ve been waiting on this for a while. OKCMOA is fantastic, but if they want to make it first class, comparable to some of the top museums in the country, they need more room. I hope they have big dreams for this expansion.

[Pete]

They have been working on expansion for quite a while but this property cost them $1.6 million, so now they are pretty committed.

Still, based on what I know, this will continue to move slowly. Wouldn't be surprised if they acquire more property on that same block.

[amocore]

They have been working on expansion for quite a while but this property cost them $1.6 million, so now they are pretty committed.

Still, based on what I know, this will continue to move slowly. Wouldn't be surprised if they acquire more property on that same block.

It is an excellent news.
Hopefully they acquire most of this block, which is fairly sad in the CBD, and turn it in a nice expansion.

[David]

The museum just acquired the old First National/First Interstate/Bank of America drive-thru.

I know they have been working on an expansion for some time. I suspect when that happens, there would have to be some sort of skywalk over Robert S Kerr.

They have been working on expansion for quite a while but this property cost them $1.6 million, so now they are pretty committed.

Still, based on what I know, this will continue to move slowly. Wouldn't be surprised if they acquire more property on that same block.

Would be excellent if they bought and built on that surface parking lot too.

[Pete]

That weird building with the octagonal roof has been for sale for quite a while as well; included is that surface lot to the west with all the white trucks

It was a secure facility for First Nationa/First Interstate/Boatman's/Bank of America and is now operated by the Garda armored truck & cash services company.

[Pete]

Would be excellent if they bought and built on that surface parking lot too.

The museum bought that surface lot east of the recently-purchased former bank drive-thru back in 2009.

They already own enough land to double the size of the museum, but would be great if they could take even more of that largely under-developed block.

[David]

Even better!

[Pete]

Especially if the new arena goes on the old Cox site, downtown is going to start expanding to the west.

Already tons of housing and commercial projects in that direction.

The museum will only become more critical over time and is such a gem. If they were to do a considerable expansion on their current site, it would do a lot to accelerate growth in that direction.

[soonerguru]

The museum is a great interruptor in the Parking Garage District.

I kid (kinda).

[progressiveboy]

This sounds really great! OKCMOA acquisition of the Rose Glass Collection! This may be why they are wanting to expand?



https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...301433223.html

[Plutonic Panda]

The museum just acquired the old First National/First Interstate/Bank of America drive-thru.

I know they have been working on an expansion for some time. I suspect when that happens, there would have to be some sort of skywalk over Robert S Kerr.

I may be in the minority here but I wish they could find a way to incorporate this structure into a new building(the expansion) or at least part of it. Is this considered Art Deco? It has a brutalist vibe to it.

[Timshel]

Haha I had the same thought. Could be cool inside an atrium in the new portion of the museum.

[5alive]

^^^

[HFAA Alum]

I may be in the minority here but I wish they could find a way to incorporate this structure into a new building(the expansion) or at least part of it. Is this considered Art Deco? It has a brutalist vibe to it.

I have to disagree. To me it seems a little too 1950's brutalist for my personal preference, especially for this area and the intent that's being presented. I think the structure should be bold and unorthodox, something modern and fresh, akin to the stuff in the Middle-East and Asia. This design is too blunt and boring to be anything artistic, unless you wanted to paint it white and stack another 15-20 floors on it, mixing the material with both marble and glass to stand out in the sunset, then yeah.

But for it's size, I don't think it really attracts much.

Maybe if they could reference the structure in a more modern build like the convention center, that I can see working as well. But then again, that's just my worthless two cents (cause you ain't getting anything for that price in this economy).

[Bowser214]

I read on FB (don't laugh) that the old banking structure is coming down. I'd rather not mention the person's name that posted that bit of info.

[Teo9969]

If they do skywalks, I hope they are form over function. Would be pretty cool to see some skywalks that go from one floor to the next.

[ABryant]

A skywalk to the basement. A quick elevator ride leads you to downtown OKC. Confusion happens.

[shawnw]

If they do skywalks, I hope they are form over function. Would be pretty cool to see some skywalks that go from one floor to the next.

Not usually a skywalk fan but would support "art skywalks" that were both externally artistic but also contained art, and yes, the different level thing would be cool, but maybe not ADA compliant.

[foodiefan]

. . . the "skywalk" link from the Westin/Hallmark Crown Center to Union Station is KC is really neat . . . wonder if something similar might work?

https://www.crowncenter.com/listings/the-link

[Pete]

OKC Museum of Art planning major expansion

In August 2022, the Oklahoma City Museum of Art acquired the old drive-thru banking facility that has been owned by Bank of America.

Now the museum has revealed plans to rework the property for parking while they continue to plan for a major expansion of the museum itself.

The property is directly north of the museum.

The museum opened in 2002 and its collection has grown by more than 2,000 objects, which results in only having the capacity to exhibit a small percentage of the total works.

Also, the museum lacks key amenities that it says could reduce costs and generate revenue.

The new parking with serve the facility and include a sculpture garden.

A spokesperson for the museum emphasized they have no established timeline and that there are 'years of work before we get to a proper planning stage'.

[Colbafone]

So this announcement is just for a new surface parking lot? Any idea when they'd actually start with the expansion? We talking like...5 years or 20?

[Sooner.Arch]

I know this might be a far fetch but for years now ive had this dream for OKC to get a Modern Museum. Yes, I know that we are getting the OKC Contemporary but my idea is for an actual Museum of Modern Art and Sculpture Museum/Garden. The location would be across from the Museum of Art.
Attachment 14767

The red would be the Modern Museum ( which could even be designed to have a skywalk connecting to the Museum of Art)
The yellow would be the space for the Sculpture Museum and Garden. The old Bank of America on Robert S. Kerr would be kept and incorparated as part of the outdoor Sculpture Garden. The rest of the buildings would be torn down.
I know this is just a small concept but that area could make a huge difference if it was to be developed. It would help tie with the Downtown Arts District. Just an idea I thought i would share.

Not to toot my own horn, I said this back when I was 20 years old back in 2018. I even told the dean of my architecture school, I wonder if Hans took my idea to the city haha! There is definitely a lot more potential for this land, I hope they acquire more of the land and expand but sadly I am disappointed they want to tear down the existing structure...... for parking. Oh how OKC doesn't learn from its mistakes.