By Laura Spencer
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-596237.mp3
Kansas City, MO – After 8 years of planning and construction, the $200 million dollar renovation and expansion project at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is complete. And the final piece, the new Steven Holl-designed Bloch Building, opened to the public on Saturday, June 9. KCUR's Laura Spencer reports.
At the ribbon cutting ceremony, a crowd gathered as blue ribbons were cut at six public entrances to the new Bloch Building and the original 1933 neoclassical building. The museum's CEO and Director Marc Wilson says it symbolizes a new era of openness at the museum.
MARC WILSON: whoever you are...this institution is yours.
Henry Bloch, the building's namesake and outgoing trustee, credits Wilson with steering the project through some of its challenges.
HENRY BLOCH: it took years to build the new building and it was not without problems. And the final results were certainly way beyond our expectations.
The Bloch Building adds 165 thousand square feet, showcasing the museum's collections of African art, contemporary art, and rotating exhibitions of photography. Laura Spencer, KCUR News.