Speed Art Museum to expand, open free sculpture garden in 2025
A new three-acre sculpture garden and outdoor community space is now under development at the Speed Art Museum, officials announced earlier this month.
Speed Outdoors is intended to be an open space for everybody to enjoy art and nature for free at any time of the day, according to a news release from the museum. The new extension, expected to open in 2025 and welcome around 500,000 people annually, will also host activities, including yoga and concerts, according to its website.
"The Speed Outdoors represents our vision for a museum shaped by dedication to inclusivity, belonging and boundless forms of creativity," said Raphaela Platow, the director of the Speed Art Museum.
According to the release, the museum is currently in a $22 million fundraising campaign to develop the park and ensure it continues being a community space in the future.
The park will feature 13 sculptures by artists from all over the world including Zaha Hadid, Sol LeWitt, Kulapat Yantrasast, and Deborah Butterfield.
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The park "will also benefit the local ecosystem through pollinator-friendly native fauna, a revitalizedshade canopy created by planting at least 150 new native trees and advanced water managementsystems, designed in partnership with arborists and native plant experts," the release stated.
With the funds being raised, the museum wants to continue the year-round programs it has planned like meditation and outdoor learning activities.
The museum is developing the park in collaboration with the University of Louisville, where the Speed Art Museum is located.
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Reach Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez at abrinez@gannett.com; follow her on Twitter at @SoyAnaAlvarez.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Speed Art Museum to expand with sculpture park in 2025
