UI Museum of Art to open in Memorial Union

The University of Iowa Museum of Art opens in a temporary location this weekend for students, then to the public on Sept. 8.

More than 500 works of art from the museum's collection, displaced by the June 2008 flood, will be displayed in the former Richey Ballroom of the Iowa Memorial Union's third floor. The venue is being called UIMA@IMU.

Students can preview the space from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday Aug. 22 during the UI “welcome week” events in Hubbard Park.

After Sept. 8, the regular public hours will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday; and noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The space will be closed Mondays and on university holidays.

Museum staff chose the 500 works with potential teaching use in mind, Chief Curator Kathleen Edwards said.

“We already have classes booked to use the space the first week of classes,” she said. “It's clear students and faculty have missed the experience original works of art can provide.”

The renovation of the Richey Ballroom cost about $1 million, 90 percent of which was funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The National Endowment for the Humanities provided $30,000 and the university the remainder.

The ballroom's carpet has been removed to reveal the original maple ballroom floor. The ceiling has been lowered from as high as 18 feet to nearly 12 feet. The windows have been closed off to allow for light and climate control. And newly painted walls divide the 4,000-square-foot area into sections, including a glass-walled classroom for use by appointment.