Muskegon Museum of Art Expansion Project

The Muskegon Museum of Art (MMA) is in the process of a $15.4M expansion which nearly doubles the current museum footprint from 31,800 SF to 57,570 SF. The expansion project will add four new exhibition galleries (including a large 5,000 SF gallery for major touring exhibitions), two new classrooms, a new museum store, new critical collections storage, workshop, support spaces (loading dock, event staging, custodial), and connecting spaces for public events, community space, and a public sculpture garden/green space bridging the new museum to a revitalized downtown. When completed, the MMA will have 18,675 sf of exhibition space, which will substantially advance and sustain our mission for decades to come and transform the MMA into a regional, Midwest, and national destination.

The MMA’s vision for this expansion is to support the museum’s viability and sustainability for decades by transforming from a stop-over spot to a destination that will have a wide-ranging economic and cultural impact on the West Michigan area.

• Lead design firm: Annum Architects, Boston, MA
• Collaborating design firm: Mathison | Mathison Architects, Grand Rapids, MI
• Owner’s representative: Construction Simplified, Grand Rapids, MI
• Construction: Erhardt Construction, Muskegon & Grand Rapids, MI

Museum Opening Receptions

• Member-Only Opening: Wednesday, February 5, 2025 | 5-7 PM
• Public Opening: Thursday, February 6, 2025 | 5-7 PM
• Family Day Opening: Saturday, February 8, 2025 | 11 AM – 2 PM
• Major Donor Reception: Thursday, March 27, 2025 | 5 PM

A capital campaign for the expansion began in 2020. Major contributions have made the reality of a museum expansion possible for the Muskegon Museum of Art.

Here is a list of our generous major donors (as of September 4 2024):

FOUNDER – $1,700,000+

Steven Alan Bennett & Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt

In addition to the Bennett’s generous gift toward the expansion, they also gifted the MMA 150 works of art by 115 different artists, including Artemisia Gentileschi, Mary Cassatt, Agnes Martin, Elaine de Kooning, Harmonia Rosales, Julie Bell, Andrea Kowch, Katie O’Hagan, and dozens of others representing contemporary and historical women figurative realist painters. The artwork donation gives the MMA the ability to have a space to focus on art by women artists, positioning Muskegon among fewer than five museums in the world with a focus for art by women.

Click here to learn more about the Bennett’s gift to the MMA.

LEADERSHIP – $1,500,000+

• Van Kampen Boyer Molinari Foundation

SUSTAINER – $1,000,000+

• City of Muskegon
• Mrs. Shaw Walker

PLATINUM – $500,000+

• Harbor Steel & The Folkert
•  Family in Memory of Carol Folkert
• The Hilt Foundation
• Patrick O’Leary Foundation
• Brad & Kathleen Playford
• Shape Corp. in Memory of  Gary & Victoria Verplank
• Anonymous

GOLD – $250,000+

• Community Foundation for Muskegon County (CFfMC)
•  Frey Foundation
• Hines Corporation 
• Howmet Aerospace Foundation
• Frank E. & Flora M. Johnson Family
• Muskegon Public Schools
• Mike & Kay Olthoff

SILVER – $100,000+

BRONZE – $50,000+

• Bernard & Catherine Berntson
• Kate Brickley in Memory of Robert Packer
• Dr. Fredrick & Deborah Brown Estate
• Consumers Energy Foundation
• Steve & Deb Jackson
• Steve & Deb Olsen 
• Webb Chemical Service Corporation
• John D. & Karen L. Wells 
• Jerry & Roxie Westgate

LEGACY – $25,000+

Patron – $10,000+

Hopper Society – $5,000+

Benefactor – $2,500+

Friend – $1,000+

Supporter – up to $999