Strong Museum closing for 11 days ahead of expansion
by Tyler Diedrich
Rochester, N.Y. — Ahead of the grand opening of a major expansion, The Strong National Museum of Play will be closed for 11 days.
The closure will last from June 19-29, with the grand reopening scheduled for June 30 at 10 a.m.
BACKGROUND: The Strong breaks ground on 90,000-square-foot expansion
The 90,000-square-foot expansion features a new welcome atrium, gift shop and multiple exhibits — including ESL Digital Worlds, Hasbro Game Park and more.
The museum plans to use the closure to change over signage in the parking garage and museum, reorient traffic patterns, and work on other preparations for the grand reopening.
MORE: Strong Museum building world's largest Donkey Kong arcade game
Expanded Museum of Play opens to 1,200 visitors in first hour; completes neighborhood 10 years in the making
Crews were busy this week cleaning, testing, and putting the finishing touches on an expanded Strong Museum of Play ahead of Friday’s big opening.
Some 1,200 children and adults flooded into the museum in the first hour of the opening.
“It is absolutely unbelievable,” said Mayor Malik Evans, who got an early look at the expansion during a reception Thursday night. “To see Hasbro come to life outside was absolutely unbelievable. And to see a place where just about every video game imaginable — games that my older brother who's 10 years older than me played. And then games that I played. And now games that my kids are playing.
"I don't use this word often, but it is awe-inspiring.”
A ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday officially opened the museum expansion, drawing a host of dignitaries also including congressmen, Gov. Kathy Hochul, and a slew of other state, county and local elected officials. Several of those in attendance — including Evans — brought their children.
The museum is the last piece of the Neighborhood of Play, and a focal point of the Eastern Inner Loop reconstruction begun almost a decade ago. The planned neighborhood that surrounds it includes apartments, restaurants, and a Hampton Inn & Suites hotel that opened this week.
“It took a big, huge effort by all parties involved to get here because of delays and things,” Indus Hospitality’s Katie Patnode said of the hotel. “It’s been a long time coming for us. So we're just happy to be open at this point.”
Here, as elsewhere, work was slowed by the pandemic and supply chain issues. The hotel initially was projected to open in fall 2021.
“We brought help in from our other properties ... and what they have pulled off in the last few weeks is really, really monumental for our company,” Patnode said.
The goal has always been to open in conjunction with the museum expansion. The hotel bar Lila’s isn't ready yet but should be in a couple of weeks, Patnode said, serving craft cocktails and small plates.
Over at the museum — with its massive, $70 million-plus, video game-themed expansion — children and adults played video games, climbed over giant Jenga pieces and tried their hand at a fire and smoke breathing five-headed dragon.
The museum has been closed in recent days as workers literally flipped the entrance from the south side of the building to the new, northside entryway, and opened new pathways connecting the new and old sections of the building.
Thousands of visitors are expected. Doors close at 8 p.m.
There is still work to be done.
A parklike area along Adventure Place on the north side of the museum still is under construction. A giant kugel ball weighing about 20 tons is expected to arrive late next month, and the park should be completed in August, museum officials said.
This neighborhood is part of the redevelopment of what was the eastern leg of the Inner Loop. Work to fill in the sunken highway began almost a decade ago. Construction on the museum parking garage and buildings has been ongoing over the past five years.
“As far as the heavy construction of it all, once The Strong has completed their outdoor space … the major part of the construction will be done,” Patnode said.
About half the retail space has filled. But Tim Schmid, president of Konar Properties, said there has been “a significant increase in serious prospects over the past couple of months. The opening of both are definitely a factor in peoples’ planning.”
“We’re also deliberate about what types of businesses we want in there, to ensure we provide a balance of services to our residents, as well as museum visitors and hotel guests,” he said in an email. “We could have filled the whole street with bars and dispensaries, but that isn’t consistent with our vision for the Neighborhood of Play.”
From the archive: Coolest job in Rochester? It might be exhibit designer or gigantic toy builder at the Museum of Play
An inside look at what’s coming to the Strong National Museum of Play
[anvplayer video=”5182584″ station=”998131″]
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Strong National Museum of Play has been closed to the public for the past week as they finish a massive expansion project. Staff at the Strong gave News10NBC a sneak peek at what new exhibits are coming.
The star of the show is a 90,000-square-foot, brand-new building, which will hold three new exhibits centered around video games.
“Video games have become a dominant form of play, and so as the National Museum of Play that’s something we felt the need to preserve and to educate and to celebrate,” CEO and President Steve Dubnik said.
One new exhibit is Level Up which includes a life-sized video game where players can create an avatar of themselves as the main character. Another exhibit, High Score, details the history of video games and even includes a replica of the first video game ever created. There will also be a gallery highlighting the art of video games.
The building also holds a new entrance and a gift shop that’s three times the size of the old one. Out by the old entrance is the Hasbro game park, which features 17,000 square feet of larger-than-life games for guests to play outdoors.
Dubnik’s favorite new feature is in this park: A 20-foot-tall dragon that breathes fire and water from the tabletop role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons. Kids and adults will be able to press a glowing red button to activate the five-headed dragon.
But it’s not all about what’s new for Dubnik. It’s also about what’s been sitting in storage.
“We have a collection of more than 500,000 things of which only a small fraction is ever on display,” he said. “So expanding and creating new exhibits gives us an opportunity to increase the visibility of what we have.”
He says that the inside of the old museum will also be getting a facelift. Because The Strong is open almost every day of the year, they are taking the opportunity to deep clean just about everything in the museum.
Back outside, there are also two new common areas that will be open to the public.
“The museum expansion is really at the center of the Neighborhood of Play,” Dubnik said. “And so within that, you have places to live, places to work, places to eat, places to celebrate within there, and places to stay in the hotel that’s been built.”
The plazas will feature “Play Happened Here” placards, which talk about the history of play, reaching as far back as indigenous communities in Western New York.
Jumping to the future, the expansion will also bring an Augmented Reality butterfly experience to life, where people are able to see virtual butterflies flying around them.
“And it’s just a lot of marvels, a lot of things that no one out here has ever seen,” Dubnik said.
When asked about how high-tech the museum is getting, he laughed.
“It has to,” he said. “Play’s gotten high-tech, right? And so we have to be there along with how people play.”
The Strong Museum of Play will open back up to the public at 1 p.m. on June 30.
The Strong National Museum of Play Announces Official Grand Opening of 90,000 Square Foot Expansion
The Strong Set to Unveil All-New Exhibits This Summer Featuring the Largest Board and Video Game Activations in the U.S.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. , April 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Strong National Museum of Play —one of the largest, history museums and the only devoted to the history and exploration of play—is thrilled to announce the grand opening of its new, dynamic expansion on June 30 , all part of the Neighborhood of Play transformation in Rochester, NY .
The Strong's immersive gaming exhibit, ESL Digital Worlds , offers visitors two progressive, video game-centric areas— Level Up and High Score —where visitors can create their own personalized avatars and embark on challenging and puzzle-solving quests. Guests will also learn about the business and art of the video game industry and discover the incredible stories behind the World Video Game Hall of Fame and Women in Games exhibit.
Adding to the excitement is the Hasbro Game Park , an expansive outdoor board game exhibit where visitors can explore a larger-than-life landscape inspired by classic board games. The board game utopia will include characters from fan-favorite games, such as a fire-breathing dragon from Dungeons & Dragons, a chrome Scottie from Monopoly, and other iconic game pieces that generate the ultimate feeling of nostalgia and resurface the greatest memories of childhood. Before heading outside, visitors will be wowed by Hasbro Board Game Place , a 1,000-square-foot interactive indoor exhibit that examines and celebrates gameplay, and the social impact of board games.
In addition to the new exhibits, The Strong's expansion will feature a welcome atrium and gift shop on the first floor, and a connection to a new parking garage, all of which is being funded by Powered by Play: A Campaign for The Strong.
The Strong National Museum of Play anticipates that annual museum attendance will grow to nearly one million by 2026 with the expansion, up from a previous high of 600,000 pre-pandemic. With the new space, The Strong will be one of the largest history museums in the United States .
Rochester's Neighborhood of Play also features residential and retail spaces, including a video-game themed restaurant, as well as a new, family-friendly Hampton Inn & Suites located adjacent to the museum.
Don't miss the grand opening of The Strong's new expansion on June 30 and experience the excitement and wonder of play. For more information, visit https://www.museumofplay.org/ .
About The Strong The Strong is the only collections-based museum in the world devoted solely to play. It is home to the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, the National Toy Hall of Fame, the World Video Game Hall of Fame, the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play, Woodbury School, and the American Journal of Play and houses the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of historical materials related to play.
Known widely as the nation's museum of play, The Strong blends the best features of both history museums (extensive collections) and children's museums (high interactivity) to explore the ways in which play encourages learning, creativity, and discovery and illuminates cultural history.
Independent and not-for-profit, The Strong is located in Rochester, New York , where it collects and cares for hundreds of thousands of objects including toys, dolls, board games, video games, other electronic games, and other objects that illuminate the meaning and importance of play. Together, these materials enable a multifaceted array of research, exhibition, and other interpretive activities that serve a diverse audience of adults, families, children, students, teachers, scholars, collectors, and others around the globe.
SOURCE The Strong National Museum of Play
An experimental art and science space inside one of the oldest Russian museums
The Polytechnic Museum was founded in the Russian Empire in 1872, making it one of the oldest science and technology museums of the world. The Museum has always inspired and supported young professionals; since the very beginning one of its missions has been drawing the audience's interest to knowledge and achievements of the human mind. Today the Polytechnic Museum, widely known as PolyTech, is renovating not only its historical main building, but also its approach to achieving the main goal: going beyond collection, lectures and exhibitions. The new PolyTech is a platform for scientific discussions, educational projects, intellectual efforts and media communication in every available form. Museeum met with Natalia Fuchs, interdisciplinary projects curator at the Polytechnic Museum, to find out more about an exciting new project – the “Electronic Livingroom” – cross-disciplinary platform, offering programs for everyone interested in technology and art.
How did the idea of the Electronic Livingroom come around?
"Polytechnic Museum has begun the modernization project a few years back: our historical building has been under reconstruction for sometime now (it will only be reopened in 2017-2018), so in order to engage our audience, we started working with various venues and institutions – VDNKh (that’s where the Electronic Livingroom is located) Strelka Institute, ZIL Center, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Multimedia Art Museum and others. For years the museum has been building a community for kids, teenagers and adults interested in science. Today we organize exhibitions, lectures, discussions, screenings and festivals throughout Moscow for every age group. Our newest project – Electronic Livingroom is meant to be a scene for media and sound artists, musicians, performers, curators and technological community. Every professional in audiovisual arts and audiovisual technology is part of our demographic. One of our aims is to promote technology and science to everyone interested in media art".
Today museums try to create events for a bigger audience. Why did you decide to develop a program for such a narrow group? It looks like an intimate space for a few people.
"And it is! Actually big ideas require intimate space at first. We are truly happy when our livingroom is full of guests on the day we present a new AV performance that involves new technologies or a specific area of scientific research; when we discover young media artists or when we organize lectures and public talks for a very specific target audience (innovative research, technology or science professionals). We establish direct contact with opinion makers, “it-girls” and “it-boys” of science. Electronic Livingroom was launched as a creative laboratory or curatorial studio, it was not meant to be a public social club, but throughout the first year, public interest grew so fast that now several laboratories exist in the Electronic Livingroom framework: Laboratory of Interactive Performance (run together with media artist Alexey Yepishev and choreographer Yulia Chekmas), Audiovision Lab (with co-curator Alexey Shcherbina), and McLuhan Club (with media researcher from Higher School of Economics Varvara Tchumakova). It is now a platform to collaborate with established and young artists, with international organizations, a place to produce projects for international festivals and exhibitions. But still it feels cozy. “Intimacy” in this case works really well. The livingroom has grown, but the audience is supportive and understanding, we continuously work to secure that. Luckily artists and technologists have a chance to work together, combining contemporary audiovisual art with modern technology in a very comfortable setting of the Electronic Livingroom at the Polytechnic Museum".
"We want to safeguard a place where creative minds can develop and test their bold ideas, a sort of supportive audience for media artists", - Natalia Fuchs.
Would you say that the Electronic Livingroom is mostly for art, science and music professionals with profound knowledge on the subject? Is your program adapted for an average art lover?
"We always think of people who come in for the first time and want to have an idea of what audiovisual art, sound, electronic and experimental music are in relation to technology and science; what multimedia and visualization is to modern society; how minds, ecology and the world are being influenced. We don’t want the Livingroom to be hostile to new audiences. Public talks and lectures give a better understanding of the subject to wider audience. We organize audiovisual performances and concerts where people can enjoy music and visuals, ask questions, meet artists and other guests, find more information on our projects. It is a good way-in for art lovers: friendly atmosphere and easy-going discussions; also it is a space, where the open minded technology specialists can contribute to contemporary art with technology and science. We are always there to help people communicate and we are happy when our public events lead to new collaborations".
What were the most interesting events you organized in the Electronic Livingroom so far?
"Now it's the right time to think of our past season, but it's difficult to point out the most significant events. We cover a wide spectrum of genres and areas trying to think of unusual forms of representation and performative aspects of modern culture. We hosted two lecture series: Nick Zavriev's lectures on electronic music (where we learned not only the history, but also key compositions in this genre) and Andrey Orlov’s lectures on technology of electronic music. Andrey showed his legendary collection – old school synthesizers, drum machines and so on and dwelled on the creative processes. During the AV live series we showed audiovisual performances by many local experimental artists (::vtol::, Alexei Borisov, Solo Operator, Pavel Zhagun, Alexander Senko and others), labels (Kotä Records, Art-Tek) and international guests (Nicolas Melmann, Peter Kirn, Mico Rex, Thorsten Storno, Arma, Paul Roth, Ian Douglas-Moore). Sometimes our Electronic Livingroom was turned into a gallery. Last August we hosted “Cage suite” audiovisual installation (Videoformes festival, France)".
Are you planning to recreate any key sound art performances?
"Next year we will launch lecture series researching what sound performances are all about. Maybe recreation of performances will come up as an outcome of this lecture series, let’s see! For now the Electronic Livingroom hosted Polytech.Science.Art workshop dedicated to Synesthesia and the reconstruction of historical Soviet light-and-sound machine Crystall. The reconstruction has not yet come to an end, we work on it together with Russian artist ::vtol:: and construction bureau Prometheus, where this machine originally came out in the 1960s".
Do you think the Electronic Livingroom will turn into a new type of an intellectual club?
"It is already an intellectual club! There are ongoing sessions on audiovisual context and electronic arts, on many pivotal subjects. Our main concern now is moving back to our historical building in the heart of Moscow. I believe it will be the powerful place bringing people together. So the potential is right there. It is “in the blood” of the Polytechnic Museum, since it has always been an important place for intellectuals in Moscow and we aim to develop our projects to bring in anyone open-minded and everyone thinking outside the box".
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Julia Tarasyuk
Julia is an art consultant and art writer with over a decade of experience collaborating with museums, galleries and independent art projects in Russia, UK, France and Japan. She is currently based in Tokyo, where she organises art projects and… Read more
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SPECIAL FEATURE: 8th Moscow International Biennale of Contemporary Art
Artists: Stephan Balkenhol, Georg Baselitz, Alexander Brodsky, Evgenia Buravleva, VALIE EXPORT, Harm Weistra & Eddi Bal, Sonja Gangl, Evgeny Granilshchikov, Alex Katz, Andrey Kuzkin, Maria Kulagina, Halla bint Khalid, Rashid al Khalifa, Mohammed Khoja, Maria Lassnig, Leyla, Alexey Luka, Orhan Mammadov, Tony Matelli, Muntean / Rosenblum, Hermann Nitsch, Pavel Otdelnov, Paola Pivi, Egor Plotnikov, Vitaly Pushnitsky, Neo Rauch, Gerhard Richter, Natalia Sitnikova, Maria Suvorova, Lijun Fang, Xenia Hausner, Zhang Huan
Exhibition title: The Main Project “Orienteering And Positioning”
Venue: State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia
Date: October 31, 2019 – January 22, 2020
Curator: Dmitri Tcherniakov
Architects : Sergei Tchoban, Agniya Sterligova
Designer : Igor Gurovich
Photography: Kiki Petratou / All images copyright and courtesy of the artists and Moscow International Biennale of Contemporary Art
Moscow Biennale aims to be not only a particular powerful event, but also a new institutional project that strengthens relationships between curators, art historians, managers, federal authorities, sponsors and trustees, mass media and public opinion on contemporary art both in and outside Russia itself. It is the organisers’ intention that the Moscow Biennale will be a reproducible strong structure that finds its place in the network of other major international art forums.
The Main Project of the 8th Moscow Biennale consists of more than 50 works of 34 artists from 11 countries: Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, China, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the USA.
For the first time one of the world’s leading museums – Albertina (Vienna, Austria) – became a partner of the Moscow Biennale. The masterpieces of 11 artists of the XX century will come from the collection of Albertina Museum.
Dmitri Tcherniakov, the curator Main Project of the 8th Moscow International Biennale of Contemporary Art:
«This is my first experience of curatorial work in such a large project. I am very glad that something like this happened in my life. This experience connects a lot of things in my life, because, as I said, the visual is a very important part of what I do and what I love in the theater. Therefore, this is the main motivation. As I always say, I am in favor of expanding the boundaries between hermetic arts, which are usually rarely interested in each other.
In General, what is creativity? Creativity, if we talk simly – is the creation of something new, so we all do it in its own way and in different genres. Therefore, I am very grateful that all this happened, and thank you to Sergei Tchoban, who made a great project, and the organization of the Moscow Biennale, Julia Muzikiantskaya, and all the artists who is participating in the Main Project. Unfortunately, many artists who planned to take part in this project couldn’t do it and I express them my apologies. The exhibition, I hope, will impress visitors. The Project will be opened on October 31st»
Julia Muzikantskaya, the president of the Moscow International Biennale of Contemporary Art:
«The main project of the 8th Moscow Biennale is the extraordinary and bright exhibition. It seems to me that no one has ever done something of this kind, which is not surprising. I would like to thank the unique team of curators: Dmitri Tcherniakov, architects Sergei Tchoban and Agniya Sterligova and, of course, one of the leading world’s museums – Albertina. The main idea of any Biennale is the dialogue of artists, the creative interaction. It was important for us that Russian artists would have the opportunity for this dialogue with the recognized celebrities of the world and their best art works. Of course, this was made possible mainly because our partners and trustees. I would like to emphasize that for many years the creation of the new pieces for Moscow Biennale has become possible due to the support of Leonard Blavatnik.
Let me express my gratitude to our constant partners – Transneft, Gazprombank, Ingosstrakh, Metropol and Azimut hotels and new and, I hope, also constant – MTS and Aeroflot.
I would like to thank the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia O.U. Golodets and the Minister of Culture V.R. Medinsky, the Moscow government for the support provided.
Special thanks to Zelfira Tregulova and the team of State Tretyakov Gallery.»
Klaus Albrecht Schröder, general director of Albertina
«For many years the Albertina Museum has had close partnerships with renowned Russian museums.
Exhibitions at the State Hermitage Museum and the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg as well as co-operations with the Pushkin Museum are now followed for the first time by a co-operation with the Tretyakow Gallery.
In the Main project of the 8th Moscow Biennale, the Albertina Museum is presenting important positions of contemporary art from their rich collections. Many of these artists will be presented for the first time in Russia»
Zelfira Tregulova, the general director of the State Tretyakov Gallery:
“I think it is very important that such a significant event as the Moscow Biennale should continue to live and be held regularly. Russia, which is not presented often at international art exhibitions and fairs, should indicate that contemporary art is interesting, lively and relevant in our country.
It is very important that the participation of the contemporary art collection from the famous Albertina Museum in Vienna and the exhibiting of the most important contemporary artists’ works are planned during the Moscow Biennale in 2019. Most of those artists have become classics, and it is very important that their works will be shown in the space, where during the late 1980s-early 1990s the breakthrough exhibitions of the great artists, including Rauschenberg, Tinguely, Gilbert&George, Rosenquist, and many others were held. The presentation of works created in recent years by Russian artists is also very important. It emphasizes the continuity of the tradition of the presence of contemporary art – both International and Russian, in the space of the State Tretyakov Gallery on Krymsky Val.”
Sergei Tchoban, the architect and author of the exposition design of the Main Project of the 8th Moscow International Biennale of Contemporary Art:
«My participation in the 8th Moscow International Biennale of Contemporary Art as the author of the exhibition design is a great honor for me and a very interesting creative challenge, and I am highly grateful to the organizers for their trust. The design of the exhibition, which was developed together with Agniya Sterligova, is based on the idea of the city of artists. Various parts are interpreted as separate “buildings” and “squares”, the content and form of which are dictated by the intentions of the artists participating in the exhibition. I hope that the visitors will see the space of the exhibition as a series of successively shown large-scale spaces, and each of them is full of bright and unexpected works of modern art.»
Harm Weistra & Eddi Bal, Requiem for a Falling Man , 2019, Dibond, mounting scarf, video
The Main Project “Orienteering And Positioning” , 2019, exhibition view, State Tretyakov Gallery, 8th Moscow International Biennale of Contemporary Art
Herman Nitsch, Actions , 1962 – 2005
Stephan Balkenhol, Six standing men with black trousers and white shirts , 2013, Painted cedar of Lebanon, The ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna – The ESSL Collection
Tony Matelli, Couple , 2015, Polyester, silicone, polyurethane, wood, steel, oil paints, hair, Collection of Ekaterina & Vladimir Semenikhin
Alexey Luka, Shelter , 2019, wood, plywood, banner fabric, found objects, metal, acrylic
Valery Koshlyakov, Angel castle , 1994, Corrugated cardboard, tempera, mixed media, Collection of Ekaterina & Vladimir Semenikhin
Zhang Huan, CPR foundation day is 1984 , 2011, Ashes of incense on canvas
Egor Plotnikov, A minute for awake , 2019, Wood, paper, acrylic
Alexander Brodsky, 1992, Roads , 2019, Installation
Rashid al Khalifa, Maze , 2018, Enamel on Stainless Steel
Gerhard Richter, Abstract Picture, Nr. 611 – 1 ., 1986, Oil on canvas, The ALBERINA Museum, Vienna, The Batliner Collection
Evgeny Granilshchikov, Tactics , 2019, Video Installation
Maria Kulagina, Catcher , 2019, Mixed media
Neo Rauch, Let’s move on to the next , 2015, Oil on canvas, The ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna – The ESSL Collection
Muntean / Rosenblum, Untitled (Before we know it…) , 2000, Acrylic on canvas, The ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna – The ESSL Collection
Vitaly Pushnitsky, Forest , 2019, & Character 2019, Oil on Canvas, wood
Alex Katz, Roses 2. , 1998, Oil on canvas, The ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna – The ESSL Collection
Alex Katz, Jessica , 2017, Oil on canvas, The ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna – The Batliner Collection
Lijun Fang, 2014.9.30 ., 2004, Acrylic on canvas, The ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna – The ESSL Collection
Lijun Fang, Untitled , 2005, Acrylic on canvas, The ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna – The ESSL Collection
Orhan Mammadov, The Idea of Saving Aesthetics , 2019, Multimedia Installation
Orhan Mammadov, The Idea of Saving Aesthetics, 2019, Multimedia Installation
Halla bint Khalid, Punching Bag , 2019, Leather, filling
Halla bint Khalid, Housekeeping , 2019, Broom, mop, duster and resin bucket
Mohammed Khoja, The Driving Jacket , 2018, Satin
Paola Pivi, 2019, installation view
Andrey Kuzkin, Prayers and Heroes , 2016 – 2019, Bread, salt, wood, acrylic, metal, pva
Georg Baselitz, My parents by Dix (Remix) , 2005, Oil on canvas, The ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna – Permanent loan of the Viehof Collection
Georg Baselitz, Larry (Remix) , 2006, Oil on canvas, The ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna – Permanent loan of the Viehof Collection
Evgeniya Buravleva, Midday , 2019, Oil on canvas
Pavel Otdelnov, MSW ‘Timokhovo’ , 2019, Oil on canvas
Leyla, All is sacred , 2019, Multimedia installation
Xenia Hausner, Scorpio Night , 1995, Acrylic and varnish on pressboard, The ALBERTINA Museum, Vienna – The Batliner Collection
Natalia Sitnikova, Prometheus , 2019, Oil on Canvas, tempera / Apostle Peter, 2019, Oil on Canvas, tempera
Arts | Museum of Science and Industry closed Wednesday…
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Arts | museum of science and industry closed wednesday as military artifacts are moved.
The Museum of Science and Industry in Hyde Park closed to the public Wednesday, according to statements from the museum.
The closure on April 3 was for “unplanned museum maintenance.” Museum officials told the Tribune that the MSI was “relocating some military artifacts from the Museum’s archives. Out of an abundance of caution, and to ensure proper and safe removal, we have specially trained military personnel as well as local officials onsite. The Museum decided to close to the public during the assessment and removal process.”
The museum is expected to reopen for normal admission hours on Thursday. Ticketholders for Wednesday will be refunded or can call 773-684-1414 to rebook their reservation.
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Museum of Science and Industry closed Wednesday to move military artifacts
People who have booked tickets for the museum can get a refund or rebook their reservation..
The Museum of Science and Industry was closed Wednesday.
Sun-Times file
The Museum of Science and Industry was closed Wednesday as staff moves military artifacts from archival storage.
The closure was initially described as "unplanned maintenance."
"Out of an abundance of caution, and to ensure proper and safe removal, we have specially trained military personnel as well as local officials on-site," a statement from museum spokesperson Kelsey Ryan reads.
The relocation of the artifacts happened on short notice because of scheduling conflicts and availability of the officials involved.
Ryan didn't answer questions about the type and number of artifacts and where they were being moved.
Museum officials completed the move Wednesday afternoon and will operate on regular hours Thursday.
"We appreciate the support and expertise of our local team and military specialists," the museum said in a statement. "MSI will re-open and return to our normal spring break hours tomorrow. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and look forward to welcoming you to the Museum."
Anyone who purchased tickets in advance for Wednesday will be refunded or can rebook their tickets by calling 773-684-1414.
Museum of Science and Industry closed Wednesday for ‘unplanned maintenance'
The chicago museum was currently on spring break hours, published april 3, 2024 • updated on april 3, 2024 at 4:15 pm.
As spring break for some Illinois schools continue, a popular Chicago museum said it would be closed Wednesday for "unplanned museum maintenance."
"MSI will be closed Wednesday, April 3 for unplanned museum maintenance," a post on the Museum of Science and Industry's website said Wednesday. "Those that have purchased advance tickets will be refunded or can call (773) 684-1414 to rebook their reservation."
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The post added that the museum is expected to reopen Thursday for "normal operating hours."
According to the website, the MSI since Monday was operating under extended, "spring break hours" through Thursday, opening at 9:30 a.m. and closing at 5:30 p.m. The museum's regular operating hours of 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. were expected to resume Monday, April 8, the website said.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
April 21, the museum is set to have a free admission day for Illinois residents .
More information on Wednesday's unplanned closure can be found here .
This article tagged under:
The museum will close 3–3:30 p.m. on Monday, April 8, for the eclipse and will remain open until 6 p.m.
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About The Strong Fact Sheet
The Strong is the only collections-based museum in the world devoted solely to play. It is home to the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, the National Toy Hall of Fame, the World Video Game Hall of Fame, the Brian Sutton-Smith Library & Archives of Play, Woodbury School, and the American Journal of Play and houses the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of historical materials related to play. Known widely as the nation’s museum of play, The Strong blends the best features of both history museums (extensive collections) and children’s museums (high interactivity) to explore the ways in which play encourages learning, creativity, and discovery and illuminates cultural history.
Independent and not-for-profit, The Strong is situated in Rochester, New York, where it collects and cares for hundreds of thousands of objects including toys, dolls, board games, video games, other electronic games, and other objects that illuminate the meaning and importance of play. Together, these materials enable a multifaceted array of research, exhibition, and other interpretive activities that serve a diverse audience of adults, families, children, students, teachers, scholars, collectors, and others around the globe.
The Strong’s Key Programmatic Elements
Each programmatic element provides a unique framework through which The Strong develops, organizes, and delivers educational services.
International Center for the History of Electronic Games
The International Center for the History of Electronic Games (ICHEG) collects, studies, and interprets video games, other electronic games, and related materials and the ways in which electronic games are changing how people play, learn, and connect with each other, including across boundaries of geography and culture. At 60,000 objects and growing, ICHEG cares for one of the largest and most comprehensive public collections of video and electronic games, and game-related historical materials in the world.
National Toy Hall of Fame
The National Toy Hall of Fame recognizes toys that have demonstrated popularity over multiple generations and thereby gained national significance in the world of play and imagination. Each year the hall inducts additional honorees and showcases both new and historic versions of the classic icons of play. Anyone can nominate a toy to the National Toy Hall of Fame. Final selections are made on the advice of a national selection committee comprised of historians, educators, and other individuals who exemplify learning, creativity, and discovery through their lives and careers.
World Video Game Hall of Fame
The World Video Game Hall of Fame recognizes individual electronic games of all types—arcade, console, computer, handheld, and mobile—that have enjoyed popularity over a sustained period and have exerted influence on the video game industry or on popular culture and society in general.
Brian Sutton-Smith Library & Archives of Play
The Brian Sutton-Smith Library & Archives of Play is a multidisciplinary research repository devoted to the intellectual, social, and cultural history of play. In addition to housing the personal library and papers of eminent play scholar Brian Sutton-Smith, the 187,000-volume research library and archives holds a full spectrum of primary and secondary resources, including scholarly works, popular and children’s books, professional journals, other periodicals, trade catalogs, comics, manuscripts, game design materials, personal papers, and business records.
Woodbury School
Woodbury School uses the power of play to nurture children’s learning, creativity, and self-discovery. Offering an early kindergarten program for four- and five-year-olds and a preschool program for three- and four-year-olds, the curriculum at Woodbury School is Reggio Emilia-inspired and is therefore responsive to the interests of the children in the class. This approach uses a curriculum philosophy that encourages teachers and students to work together to plan and create projects. Guided by their interests, children learn and develop in playful activities set among the engaging, dynamic, hands-on exhibits at The Strong.
American Journal of Play
The American Journal of Play is a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary publication that serves as a forum for discussing the history, science, and culture of play. Published three times each year, the Journal includes articles, interviews, and book reviews written for a broad readership that includes educators, psychologists, play therapists, sociologists, anthropologists, folklorists, historians, museum professionals, toy and game designers, policy makers, and others who consider play for a variety of reasons and from various perspectives.
Here's why Museum of Science and Industry was closed Wednesday
W hile many Illinois students are out of school for spring break and heading to Chicago museums to take advantage of their days off, one iconic spot was unexpectedly closed for "unplanned museum maintenance."
A statement from the Museum of Science and Industry announced the closure and added that it would be open for "normal spring break operating hours" on Thursday.
A later announcement from the museum clarified the reason behind the closure.
"Today, MSI is relocating some military artifacts from the Museum’s archives. Out of an abundance of caution, and to ensure proper and safe removal, we have specially trained military personnel as well as local officials onsite. The Museum decided to close to the public during the assessment and removal process," the statement said.
The museum said later on Wednesday that the relocation was complete and that the museum will reopen as scheduled.
According to the website, the MSI since Monday was operating under extended, "spring break hours" through Thursday, opening at 9:30 a.m. and closing at 5:30 p.m. The museum's regular operating hours of 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. were expected to resume Monday, April 8, the website said.
On April 21, the museum is set to have a free admission day for Illinois residents .
More information on Wednesday's unplanned closure can be found here .
Not so fast: San Diego art museum could be blocked from selling its downtown home
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A controversial plan revealed last week for the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego to sell its satellite offices and exhibition space at the historic Santa Fe railroad depot could get derailed.
The city gave the extraordinary downtown property to the art museum 20 years ago as part of extensive redevelopment, still ongoing. A 2004 escrow document and transfer agreement with the museum, whose principal home is in the wealthy seaside enclave of La Jolla 13 miles north, includes no provision for selling the satellite property.
In a late February memo to staff, museum director Kathryn Kanjo noted the closure of the downtown satellite program in 2022 and wrote that the board of trustees had moved to list the site for sale or lease. The facility was posted on a commercial real estate website as available for purchase for $6.3 million.
However, the transfer agreement stipulates that, should MCASD ever decide to cease operations there, the city can take back the depot buildings — for free.
In response to questions about whether San Diego would reclaim the property or approve the sale, a spokesperson for the city told The Times in an email, “The city of San Diego is currently conducting a legal review of the agreement and shares the community’s concerns regarding the preservation of cultural uses of the property.” No time frame for the review was given.
Jonathan Glus, executive director of the city’s Commission for Arts and Culture , declined to comment.
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The proposed sale may be related to a bank loan repayment due from MCASD this summer. In 2019, the museum entered into a $33-million construction loan agreement to finance final phases of the $110-million expansion of its La Jolla facility, according to posted financial statements. The expanded building opened two years ago. The loan matures in July.
The museum did not respond to multiple inquiries about the loan balance. MCASD’s 2022 tax return, the most recent publicly available, lists a liability of “secured mortgages and notes” at just under $21 million. A statement from a spokesperson in the museum’s business office said a three-year extension for the loan repayment has been secured.
The 2004 deal for the Santa Fe Depot property included two prime parcels at a site awarded a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. To mark completion of the Panama Canal, the Panama California Exposition, an ambitious trade fair for a town then numbering fewer than 40,000 people, opened in 1915. San Diego was the first U.S. port of entry for ships coming north after passing through the canal. A magnificent Mission Revival-style train station, the Santa Fe Depot, was built for the expo at Kettner Boulevard and West Broadway, the juncture between the city and the bay.
Nearly 80 years on, starting in 1992, the depot’s long-unused baggage building was periodically hosting works of art commissioned by inSite , an independent curatorial project emphasizing public art in the border area of San Diego and Tijuana. InSite’s binational exhibitions quickly drew international attention. Across the street at One America Plaza, the La Jolla museum leased an exhibition space the following year.
A decade later, MCASD sought to take permanent possession of its Santa Fe Depot neighbor. The Times obtained a copy of the transfer document, approved in June 2004. The city specified that the site be used “only as a museum or for other cultural purposes,” such as a library and art galleries. The agreement goes so far as to itemize elements of the planned satellite museum’s operations at the landmark site, including obligations for continuous operation, ongoing maintenance and regular public hours. Even a “reasonable admission” charge, pegged at $6, is proposed.
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The document’s length and detail are evidence of the property’s critical importance to San Diego’s redevelopment plans. The National Register ranking a generation earlier was the result of a pitched battle between establishment interests, who wanted to demolish the station and rebuild from scratch, and supporters of the designation, who argued for a growing civic awareness of historic cultural infrastructure.
Exhibit C in the document shows just how crucial the museum project was for perceptions of San Diego’s future. The city wouldn’t let the site go without an ironclad, long-term guarantee that, should the museum fail to uphold its end of the deal, San Diego has “an exclusive option to acquire title” for the property “at no cost.”
MCASD spent more than $25 million refurbishing the site for museum purposes, making their commitment dear. Exhibition galleries were built inside the long-vacant 18,000-square-foot baggage depot. Dubbed the Jacobs building, it’s a single-story space with a wood-trussed ceiling and high windows for abundant natural light. Four works of art were commissioned expressly for the site.
Two more were purchased for the once-vacant adjacent lot, where the three-story Copley building for museum offices and art storage was newly constructed. Both the Copley and Jacobs structures were the work of Richard Gluckman, a fashionable New York designer known for a minimalist aesthetic and regarded as an “artists’ architect.” Gluckman also designed spaces for the Dia art center and numerous art galleries in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, as well as the Mori Art Museum atop a Tokyo high-rise, the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, N.M., and the Picasso Museum in Malaga, Spain.
The transfer document was entered into by representatives of MCASD; Catellus Development Corp., the developer working with the railroad; and San Diego city government, including the redevelopment agency. (Like all California civic redevelopment agencies, San Diego’s was disbanded 12 years ago following passage of the 2011 Budget Act ). Two possible scenarios are cited in which the museum would be in default on the agreement, allowing the city to take back the property.
One is the clock. The agreement expires of its own accord on July 31, 2091. The date might seem arbitrary, but it roughly corresponds with the end of the 99-year lease for the museum’s gallery at One America Plaza. MCASD transferred that lease to a new Navy SEAL Museum earlier this month.
The other deal breaker is the satellite museum’s closure. “Any failure of museum to continuously operate for 60 days shall constitute a default,” the agreement says. MCSAD shuttered the satellite in 2022, when the building expansion at its La Jolla headquarters opened to the public. The default deadline is long passed.
The fate of the buildings is now unclear. The next move in downtown San Diego is the city’s. In La Jolla, it appears to have been the bank’s.
Inside the Getty’s rigorous effort to fix a 500-year-old broken masterpiece
Power tools and paint made for a sometimes-harrowing repair kit for Lucas Cranach the Elder’s pair of panel paintings ‘Adam’ and ‘Eve’ from circa 1530.
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Los Angeles Times art critic Christopher Knight won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for criticism (he was a finalist for the prize in 1991, 2001 and 2007). In 2020, he also received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Art Journalism from the Rabkin Foundation.
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Rochester, N.Y. — Ahead of the grand opening of a major expansion, The Strong National Museum of Play will be closed for 11 days. The closure will last from June 19-29, with the grand reopening ...
Updated: May 2, 2023 / 12:20 PM EDT. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — In preparation for its expansion, the Strong National Museum of Play will be closed for a few days towards the end of June. According to a statement, the museum will be closed from June 19 to June 29 so the museum will prepare for accepting guests in the new atrium, test traffic ...
The museum will close 3-3:30 p.m. on Monday, April 8, for the eclipse and will remain open until 6 p.m. Skip to primary navigation; ... The Strong Museum is the ultimate play destination for all ages! With nearly 150,000 square feet of dynamic, interactive exhibit space, The Strong provides entertaining, educational, and unforgettable ...
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — After closing for a little over a week, the Strong National Museum of Play is holding the grand opening of the museum's new expansion. The museum cut the ribbon on the $65 million expansion Friday morning. Afterward, the museum will be open to the public starting at 1 p.m.
Mayor Malik Evans speaks during a ribbon-cutting ceremony opening the expanded Strong National Museum of Play on Friday, June 30, 2023. ... Doors close at 8 p.m. There is still work to be done.
Rochester, N.Y.— The Strong National Museum of Play is now closed through June 29 for a 90,000 square-foot expansion.It will include a new atrium, gift shops,
Rochester, NY—The Strong National Museum of Play officially unveiled its 90,000-square-foot-expansion today, June 30, after a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring museum leaders, elected officials, community leaders, and key partners. The museum's expansion—the final part of a larger, $75-million museum project that includes a whimsical parking garage—sits at the center of the all-new ...
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — The Strong National Museum of Play is just days away from re-opening with new attractions, and News 8 got a sneak peek Wednesday of what visitors can expect to see. The museum's 90,000-square-foot expansion will feature new exhibits — including a World Video Game Hall of Fame, OLED butterfly lights, and a Digital ...
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Strong National Museum of Play has been closed to the public for the past week as they finish a massive expansion project. Staff at the Strong gave News10NBC a sneak peek ...
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — The Strong National Museum of Play will be closed from June 19 to Friday, June 30 as they prepare for the grand opening of their expansion.
The museum will close 3-3:30 p.m. on Monday, April 8, for the eclipse and will remain open until 6 p.m. ... The Strong National Museum of Play. Visit the Ultimate Play Destination. Visit. Hours and Admission; ... The museum offers a $5 discount on museum admission fees to active-duty US military personnel and US veterans (Air Force, Army ...
The Strong Set to Unveil All-New Exhibits This Summer Featuring the Largest Board and Video Game Activations in the U.S. ROCHESTER, N.Y., April 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Strong National Museum ...
The museum will go back to regular hours over the weekend. ... — The Strong National Museum of Play announced that they will be closed this Friday as they prepare for a fundraiser that evening ...
The Polytechnic Museum was founded in the Russian Empire in 1872, making it one of the oldest science and technology museums of the world. The Museum has always inspired and supported young professionals; since the very beginning one of its missions has been drawing the audience's interest to knowledge and achievements of the human mind.
But behind the parking garage, at the corner of Adventure Place and Manhattan Square Drive, construction is well underway for The Strong's massive expansion. They broke ground on the expansion in 2021, and the CEO of The Strong, Steve Dubnik, says they are on time to be finished by their original deadline of mid-2023.
It is the organisers' intention that the Moscow Biennale will be a reproducible strong structure that finds its place in the network of other major international art forums. ... «For many years the Albertina Museum has had close partnerships with renowned Russian museums. Exhibitions at the State Hermitage Museum and the State Russian Museum ...
The Strong National Museum of Play is the ultimate play destination for kids of all ages! Plan your visit with the whole family today. The museum will close 3-3:30 p.m. on Monday, April 8, for the eclipse and will remain open until 6 p.m. Skip to primary navigation;
The Museum of Science and Industry in Hyde Park closed to the public Wednesday, according to statements from the museum. The closure on April 3 was for "unplanned museum maintenance.". Museum ...
Museum officials haven't answered questions about the maintenance. The museum is expected to be open Thursday for regular hours, according to a news release. Anyone who purchased tickets in ...
According to the website, the MSI since Monday was operating under extended, "spring break hours" through Thursday, opening at 9:30 a.m. and closing at 5:30 p.m. The museum's regular operating ...
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — As of Thursday, The Strong Museum of Play's 90,000 square-foot expansion is progressing and is on time. The museum has a date for its grand opening celebration. That's Friday, June 30th. The two-story expansion adds a new admissions area connected to the parking garage, a food court, and a handful of new exhibits ...
The fourteenth edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano.Moscow provided an opportunity to make a return visit and take a fresh look at the Garage Museum of Co...
The museum will close 3-3:30 p.m. on Monday, April 8, for the eclipse and will remain open until 6 p.m. Skip to primary navigation; ... Known widely as the nation's museum of play, The Strong blends the best features of both history museums (extensive collections) and children's museums (high interactivity) to explore the ways in which ...
The museum's regular operating hours of 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. were expected to resume Monday, April 8, the website said. On April 21, the museum is set to have a free admission day for Illinois ...
March 27, 2024 9:27 AM PT. A controversial plan revealed last week for the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego to sell its satellite offices and exhibition space at the historic Santa Fe railroad ...
The Strong National Museum of Play says they are trying to remain business as usual. A good portion of The Strong Museum's daily sales come from food service, with […] ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — With the City of Rochester's Boil Water Advisory remaining in effect, many businesses are having to change their normal operations to accommodate.
MOSCOW — For Boris Solomatin, a Moscow railway museum guide, steam locomotives are nothing short of time machines.