The unveiling of Polk County’s most significant new work of art will take place on Jan. 18.
That is the day the public will first be admitted to the new wing of the Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum of Art at Florida Southern College in Lakeland. The 14,000-square-foot expansion, decades in the planning, will add seven galleries to the existing building from 1988, along with new educational spaces, a creativity lab, and renovations to the original structure.
“Every museum awaits a once-in-a-generation moment like this, and we are thrilled that the moment has finally arrived to share this incredible expansion with our art-loving community,” H. Alexander Rich , executive director and chief curator, said in a news release. “From our donors and members to the construction crews and our expert museum staff, this was a massive, collaborative effort that propels our mission to be recognized as a site for exceptional accessible learning and a top academic and community museum in the region, state, and nation.”
The museum will hold a reception for members on Jan. 16. A ticketed event, Polk at Nite, produced by Winter Haven’s Destroyer Media and Marketing, will be held Jan. 17.
A Community Day event, including complimentary tours, activities, and special performances, is scheduled for Feb. 8.
Construction began in May 2023 on the expansion, one that leaders had envisioned since the 1988 opening of what was then the Polk Museum of Art. Tim Hoeft, a managing principal with Straughn Trout Architects of Lakeland, served as lead architect, and Rodda Construction built the new wing. Straughn Trout Architects designed the original building.
The addition presents a dramatic contrast to the original, red-brick edifice. Its front exterior, facing the Lakeland Public Library, forms a whitish rectangle with irregularly indented lines leading to a square window set high in the façade. A tall and narrow assemblage of dark glass connects the addition to the original, 38,000-square-foot space.
Museum leaders had aimed for a fall 2024 opening, but Hurricane Milton and other factors pushed back the completion of the project. An overview on the museum’s website described it as an $8 million project.
“This project reflects the realization of the dreams of many individuals in our community and at Florida Southern College to establish a world-class museum,” Anne Kerr, FSC president emerita, said in the news release. “We are especially proud of being a Smithsonian Affiliate that provides notable exhibition opportunities, and we are gratified to be one of only a few such museums in the nation that serves as both a community and academic art museum. We anticipate that this model will inspire many other such visual arts projects in the future to benefit countless individuals.”
The expansion nearly triples the museum’s main exhibition area. That will create room to display more works from the museum’s 3,400-piece permanent collection, along with traveling exhibits.
Upcoming displays include “Hair & Newton: The Rise of the Highwaymen,” the first in a rotating series of shows highlighting Florida’s largely self-taught landscape artists; “Rodin at The AGB,” featuring 14 sculptures by the best-known modern sculptor, on long-term loan to the museum; and “American Art Since the 1960s,” presenting six decades of post-war American works from the permanent collection.
The museum will also offer “Warhol Condensed: From Marilyn to Soup and Back Again,” showcasing five Andy Warhol works on long-term loan.
“We’re excited to celebrate with all those who supported this marvelous expansion of the arts in Lakeland,” FSC President Jeremy Martin said in the release. “By doubling the exhibition space, we extend The AGB’s ability to serve free-admission visitors, including countless schoolchildren every year, as well as Florida Southern College students in Art History and Museum Studies — all of whom learn at Central Florida’s only Smithsonian-affiliated art museum.”
The museum, affiliated with the college since 2017, gained its new name in July, transforming from the Polk Museum of Art at Florida Southern College into a facility now informally known as The AGB at FSC. The new name honors Ashley Gibson Barnett, a Florida Southern graduate, and a benefactor, along with her husband, Nicholas Barnett, the grandson of Publix Super Markets founder George W. Jenkins.
The Barnett’s made a “transformational” donation to establish an endowment that will keep the museum financially viable for decades, Rich said at the time. He declined to provide the amount.
Admission to the museum has been free since 2016 through the support of corporate and individual sponsorships and memberships.