RICHMOND, VA — The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) in Richmond, Virginia, announces that SmithGroup, an integrated design firm, has been selected to lead the museum's upcoming expansion project. VMFA conducted a comprehensive international search for a design firm for the project that will address the growth of the museum's collections.

SmithGroup will design a new wing at the VMFA with galleries and exhibition spaces as well as special events space with dining facilities. In addition to the new wing, SmithGroup will design renovations to the existing building to improve its gallery spaces, increase facilities for art storage, create new education classrooms, and upgrade the Leslie Clark Theater, Evans Court, and the 1936 Entrance.

"VMFA's mission for education throughout the Commonwealth and the region; its commitment to preserving its extraordinary collection of African and African American Art; its dedication to advancing Black and women artists; and its culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility resonated with each of us on the project team," said Jame Anderson, Cultural Practice Director at SmithGroup. "We believe this is a pivotal time for museums and recognize that the process and the physical design of a cultural entity speaks volumes about its values."

This is the fifth expansion project VMFA has undertaken since the museum's opening in 1936. The museum is planning to add more than 100,000 square feet of additional gallery and exhibition space in the new wing with new galleries for African art, photography, and 21st century art, together with roughly 45,000 square feet of renovations to the existing building. The expansion plans also include a new space devoted to collecting, caring for, and exhibiting their collection of nearly 26,000 works on paper.

"SmithGroup presented us with an inspired proposal that dovetailed beautifully with our desire to reimagine and transform the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts," said Michael R. Taylor, VMFA's Chief Curator and Deputy Director for Art and Education, who is the Project Director for the expansion and renovation project. "SmithGroup's passion for our institution, including our collections, staff, and mission, was obvious during the selection and interview process. Their blend of technical expertise balanced with their exceptional conceptual ability makes them the ideal design partner, and we look forward to our collaboration with them on this extraordinary building project."

Design for the expansion is beginning now, and construction is expected to begin in summer of 2023, with the new wing tentatively slated for completion in 2025.