After encountering several obstacles during the fundraising process, the three-and-a-half-year fundraising campaign for the expansion of the Gregg Museum of Art & Design at NC State may finally come to a close this week.
Currently, the Gregg Museum is less than $100,000 away from meeting its goal, according to Roger Manley, director of the Gregg Museum.
Christina Menges, director of the Development of Arts at NC State, who is in charge of the funding of the museum, will be approaching a few potential donors this week to try and finally raise the money needed to end the fundraising process.
If one of those people says yes, the fundraising could be over within the week.
“Some people like to step in the last minute and be wonderful heroes,” Manley said.
The museum, which is currently located next to the JC Raulston Arboretum, is planning to move into the old chancellor’s residence near the Bell Tower, across the street from David’s Dumpling and Noodle Bar.
The museum will construct a new 15,200 square-foot addition to the old chancellor’s residence to house its expansive collection of art work.
Funding the Gregg Museum’s expansion campaign didn’t come without its challenges. Wake County’s Tourism and Hotel Tax Fund denied the museum a $1 million grant late August of last year in addition to dealing with higher-than-expected costs of construction.
Menges said the increased construction cost was the biggest challenge the museum faced.
“We had a goal that was $2.5 million less than what we ultimately had to raise, so that was a very big challenge to overcome,” Menges said.
Originally, the cost of the museum was estimated at $7.5 million, but as the funding campaign went on, construction costs increased, raising the total to $10.4 million. Out of the total money raised so far, $3.9 million came from private donations.
Construction on the new Gregg Museum can begin on March 17, and the official groundbreaking ceremony will be on April 14, according to Manley.
The museum should be complete after 12 to 18 months of construction, Manley said.
Museum construction is expected to be completed by late 2016, and the first shows will open by early 2017.
When construction ends, offices will need to be set up and the museum’s collection will have to be moved into the new building.
The museum will have four exhibitions when it opens, one of which will feature the permanent collection. The museum will be free and open to the public.
“We will try to have four different shows at the same time when we open,” Manley said. “The idea of them is to showcase different aspects of the Gregg. It could be vehicles in one show, could be photography or abstract paintings in another. We have things in the works, but I want to make sure when it opens we have an element of surprise, and there will be a bit of everything for everyone.”
Some exhibitions for the museum are already available by appointment at the old chancellor’s house. The current exhibition features photographs by John Menapace and is open until Feb. 6.
A new exhibition will be displayed in the D.H. Hill library later this April showcasing puppets and their roles in human interaction.
“It will be about taking puppets beyond putting them on your hand and dangling from strings and more about how they perform a role that’s important today,” Manley said. “The Mars rover and other robotic devices that do exactly what you tell them to do—they are scientific puppets.”
Menges said she is excited because the end of the campaign means the new addition to the museum will soon be on its way.
“It’s a thrilling thing for arts at the NC State, a thrilling thing for the Raleigh community, and a thrilling thing for students at NC State, which is why we wanted to build this building and provide a place for students to see and feel and learn about the arts,” Menges said.
