The ASU Art Museum Ceramics Research Center on the corner of Tenth Street and Mill Avenue closed Monday as the center prepares to move to a new location.
Ceramic lovers need not fret; the relocation will be completed in mid-March and is only a few blocks north of the present location. The center will reside on the corner of Seventh Street and Mill Avenue.
The museum’s move is related to the University’s planned addition of a $350 million basketball training center known as “USA Place,” which will become headquarters for the U.S. National Basketball Team and house a 300,000-square-foot conference center and 4,500 seat exhibition area. It is set to be completed by the end of 2015.
Peter Held, the museum's curator of ceramics, said the University informed the center in August.
Held said the move to the new location is actually a blessing, because it provides the center with more space to operate as well as a more flexible floor plan.
“There will be the ceramics displays, a library and archive, classroom space, the gallery and eventually a museum shop,” he said.
The increased space and location also provide a new audience and the ability to entertain a larger crowd with the new location being central on Historic Mill Avenue, Held said.
Since its opening in 2002, the center, which houses a collection of more than 4,000 pieces, has been an integral part of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts through its educational and researching facilities.
The move will not only benefit the University’s arts community, it should also provide more employment opportunities for students interested in working for the Ceramics Research Center.
The center is slated to reopen its doors at the new location on March 21 with its inaugural exhibition displaying work by artist Pablo Helguera titled “Librería Donceles”.
The ASU Art Museum will release grand opening and programming details by early March, according to its website.
Reach the reporter at ahalleck@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @adam_halleck
