High Museum Overhauling Collections For First Time Since 2005

ATLANTA, GA — The High Museum of Art will be reinstalling its collection galleries later this year, marking the first major overhaul of the galleries at the High since 2005.

The revamped galleries will debut in October, the museum announced Monday.

The reinstallation will involve all seven of the High's departments and is intended to showcase how the museum's collection has grown and gotten more diverse, museum officials said. The museum is working with international achitectural firm Selldorf Architects on the design and planning of the galleries.

"As the Atlanta community and the Southeast have grown and changed in the years since the museum’s expansion, so has our collection," said High director Rand Suffolk. "It is essential that our galleries recognize and reflect those changes and celebrate the diverse artistic achievements represented in our holdings, drawn from across the region and well beyond.

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

"We are thrilled to embark on this project, and we look forward to debuting presentations that will welcome audiences from all walks of life to form deep connections with the museum."

Meanwhile, the High will be redesigning and doubling the size of the Greene Family Learning Gallery in collaboration with Roto design firm.

Gallery closures for the reinstallation have begun and will continue through the end of April, according to the High. The museum will close the Stent Family Wing, the High Café and the Greene Family Learning Gallery on May 20. Special exhibition galleries will remain open for the duration of the reinstallation and the museum will continue to present public programs including First Fridays, Friday Jazz and Second Sundays between now and October.

Since its expansion in 2005, the High has added nearly 7,000 artworks to its collection, which now totals more than 16,000 pieces. The reinstallation will feature iconic masterworks and present recent acquisitions across departments, including artworks never on view before at the High, such as Kara Walker’s monumental cut-paper installation "The Jubilant Martyrs of Obsolescence and Ruin" and paintings and sculptures from the 2017 Souls Grown Deep Foundation acquisition of folk and self-taught art.

"A museum collection is dynamic — always growing and evolving — so this opportunity has allowed us to thoughtfully revisit our existing presentations to reinstall the works in ways that resonate anew with our audiences," said Kevin W. Tucker, the High’s chief curator.

The reworked collections will be designed to highlight the museum's "commitment to reflecting communities from Atlanta and beyond," officials said. More works by women and and artists of color will be presented, as well as works related to the American South, from historical decorative art and American paintings to civil rights photography.

Other planned gallery and collections changes include:

• Revised wall configurations in the Stent Family Wing to create new pathways and improve sight lines
• Light abatement and system upgrades throughout the facilities to better protect light-sensitive artworks
• A new special exhibition space on the Stent Family Wing Second Level, which will feature a rotating schedule of exhibitions organized by the High to highlight various aspects of the collection
• A new photography gallery location on the Wieland Pavilion’s Lower Level, which provides additional space to present exhibitions from the growing collection of more than 7,000 photographs
• A new works on paper gallery on the Wieland Pavilion’s Lower Level
• A "black box" space on the top floor of the Anne Cox Chambers Wing for the Museum to present works from its significant new media collection

For more information, visit the High Museum of Art website.

Photo of "Crossing Water" by Thornton Dial (2006-11) courtesy of High Museum of Art.