MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art says it plans to open a new $105 million location on the Mississippi River bluff by 2024, and the design will be announced next spring.
The museum put out a request for qualifications from architects for a new downtown campus called “Brooks on the Bluff.” The Brooks’ board announced last year that the museum was considering a move downtown, but Thursday’s announcement moves that process ahead.
The museum, located in Overton Park for 100 years, says its old space no longer serves the needs of a 21st-century museum.
They released this statement:
“The new art museum will be a larger and more efficient facility that will elevate the Brooks nationally and internationally with an art museum as unique as its location, in which the challenging and uplifting elements of its identity are considered in its design; will play a major civic role in the city-wide reclaiming of the Mississippi River as one of the city’s greatest resources; further enhance Memphis’ reputation as a center for arts and culture; and will provide visitors with experiences unlike any other available in the region through the presentation of art from around the world, including new art forms, as well as art that tells the story of art-making in Tennessee and the tri-state Delta region, along with other objectives.”