The team at the MU Museum of Art and Archeology is hard at work renovating spaces, building displays and transitioning creative works to their new permanent location in Ellis Library.

To share their incredible progress, Museum Director Dan Eck invited my wife, Suzanne, and me on a tour of the facilities, including recently installed galleries and a storage area with thousands of artworks and artifacts. Museum staff let us examine selections from their vast holdings and forthcoming exhibitions, including work by Rembrandt and Thomas Hart Benton, as well as a series of small contemporary sculptures shown as a collaboration between A:shiwi (Zuni) Nation artist, Octavius Seowtewa, and the MU Museum of Anthropology.

Museum staff anticipate a campus opening in spring 2024, with a larger community grand opening in April. Meanwhile, classes in art history, archaeology and other topics are still able to visit the collection for a memorable hands-on learning experience. The museum store is also open for special holiday shopping hours Dec. 14 and 21 from 3 to 7 p.m. via the museum’s Hitt St. entrance.

I want to thank Director Eck and museum staff for showing us this impressive campus resource.

— Mun