Cedar Rapids Museum of Art transformation celebration

CEDAR RAPIDS - It's hard to build a public conversation through a wall.

A last-minute architectural element - a ramp - designed to make the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art accessible to all visitors became a little-used barrier soon after it was built 25 years ago. And it became obsolete when a new entrance with an elevator was added to the back of the building in 2004.

'Anyone who had any sort of mobility challenges would have been challenged by that ramp,” Sean Ulmer, the museum's executive director, said. 'Because it was a long ramp, going uphill was a challenge if you had a walker or if you were in a wheelchair or were trying to wheel somebody up there. Coming down was the same problem, but in reverse. You could really get going on that hill. ...

And imagine it in inclement weather.

'It was wrong for so many reasons. It looked like a fortress wall. It was very unfriendly. It looked like we didn't want you here,” Ulmer said.

That formidable front ramp has been torn down, revealing the full scope of the soaring blue towers on the 1989 gallery addition - and making way for a grand staircase and pedestrian plaza adorned with benches, hardy plants and a larger-than-life outdoor sculpture welcoming everyone to pause for art.

The public is invited to the museum's Transformation Celebration from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday to explore the changes outdoors, spruced up sections indoors and the priceless works of art in the first- and second-floor galleries.

A 5 p.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony with Mayor Ron Corbett and activities for all ages are planned throughout the event.

More subtle changes have been added indoors, including new atrium doors on both entrances; a fresh coat of paint in the lobby between the Carnegie wing and the galleries; a digital display of museum donors through the ages; and a thinning of the plants that had grown into a jungle in the atrium. The $1.4 million project - funded by individual and corporate donations and grants from foundations - also included replacing the roof and skylights on the Carnegie wing and adding two backflow prevention valves to stave off the kind of lower-level flooding experienced in 2008.

Other changes are coming, too, with a revamping and expansion of educational and hands-on activities for all ages, beginning this fall.

'We're going to do more things on the engagement side of things,” Ulmer said, 'where people can take a more active role in their experience. That could take many, many different forms.”

The staff has turned to similar museums and the public for ideas - everything from one-night and multiday classes led by local artists to film and music series and collaborations with other organizations. Even stroller tours before the museum's regular opening time.

'We know that children begin to learn visually from birth. It's the first way that they learn,” Ulmer said. 'It will focus on works that infants can respond to, ones with bright colors or big shapes.

'It also gives (parents) an opportunity to socialize with another adult, which oftentimes, people forget they need to do when they've got a wee one at home,” he said. 'It's a nice opportunity just to get out of the house and go to a place where infants are welcome, where crying children are to be expected, and not worry that you're disturbing other people. It seems so simple, but we can make it happen here, it can be something we offer that audience in our community.”

Such changes point the museum toward the future.

'It's a way of transforming not just the exterior of the building, but also the interior,” Ulmer said. 'We're very excited about that, too. We don't just want to change the way the outside of the building looks and say, ‘OK, build it and they will come.' That doesn't always work. It works in the movies, but doesn't always work in reality.

'We hope that the facade is more inviting and engaging and brings people in. Initial response has been very positive in that regard. But it has to be more than bricks and mortar if you really want to transform the museum,” he said. 'It has to be what you do and how you do it.”

It's all about meeting the needs and desires of the community.

'And helping them realize the art museum is really their museum,” Ulmer said. 'We do all of this for people to enjoy it - not just for us to enjoy. We love what we do - we love being around art or we wouldn't have gone into this profession. We love pulling exhibitions together and presenting them to the public, but we need the public as a part of the equation. We need the public to complete the story for us.

'We're thrilled when people come and see the exhibitions and get excited about art.”

That can lead to a ripple effect inspiring visitors to try their hand at creating art, taking an art history class or exploring a particular artist via the Internet.

'We really want to stimulate these individual, personal experiences with art,” he said, 'and to derive joy and excitement from the art that they see here in the museum, and hopefully, make art a part of their everyday life.”