Three months after confirming that the Lume — a gallery that merged digital and traditional artforms — would end its five-year run, Newfields released a few hints at the May 27 Annual Meeting about what will come next to the fourth floor.
The museum will pursue a major global contemporary art strategy that will include artists from around the world, said Belinda Tate, director of the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
“We have three incredible projects lined up — two on the fourth floor and one elsewhere, and all of them feature incredible artists, artists of color, women artists, artists from around the world, that we will be able to share with the community,” she said after the Wednesday evening meeting at the Tobias Theater.
The Lume’s immersive, cinema-like installations attracted an audience until the end of the experience’s run, Tate said.
“When we look at the survey results from the last iteration of the Lume, ‘Connection: Land, Water and Sky,’ they were very, very high,” Tate said. “It was an incredible learning experience for people. It allowed for people to connect with art and culture in a different way. I think, really for us, we’re just making a strategic decision that’s more future focused.”
She said the organization would make more announcements about specifics of the new fourth-floor experience at Artful Party on June 26 and throughout the summer.
Newfields considers adding an extra wing and conservatory
President and CEO Le Monte Booker also announced at the meeting that Newfields has begun a process to assess the potential value of adding a conservatory to the art and nature campus and a new wing to the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The institution is working with Studio Ma, an architectural and environmental design firm based in Phoenix, to examine different types of designs and costs, Booker said after the meeting.
“We’re starting that process of looking at what this building may look like in the next, 10, 15 years,” he said.
Newfields has been taking inspiration from Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pa., which hosts the Conservatory District — a series of rooms that marry horticulture and 19th-century classical architecture. The site focuses on conservation and invites the public to a bevy of concerts, fountain shows, science programs and gardening events.
“It’s a way to put on display your living collections all year round,” Booker said.
More updates from Newfields’ annual meeting
(This story has been updated to add new information.)
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: After Lume closes, Newfields to return contemporary art to fourth floor
Reporting by Domenica Bongiovanni, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
