Portland Museum of Art reopens with historic event

“Your Museum, Re-imagined”
Fri, 01/27/2017 - 7:30am

Story Location:
7 Congress Square
Portland, ME 04101
United States

On Friday, Feb. 3, the Portland Museum of Art will reopen after being closed for more than one month, welcoming visitors and members into a completely reinstalled and re-envisioned museum, signaling the successful completion of its massive multi-year project, “Your Museum, Reimagined.”

The countdown to the unveiling of the new PMA begins at 6 p.m. with “Lights Across Congress,” a special event that will bring more than 20 community organizations, businesses, and supporters together to present a massive 130-foot-wide cinematic projection on the museum’s façade, promising to be the Maine arts event of the year.

This event will serve as a public countdown to the reopening of the PMA, and at the end of the projection the museum will open its doors and welcome visitors to the entirely new and re-imagined museum - for free.

“Lights Across Congress”will include one of the largest multidimensional projections in Portland’s history, made possible through generous support from Unum and through partnerships with Headlight AV, p3, and the City of Portland.

To celebrate the reopening of the museum, the projection will light up the façade of the PMA with an exciting and colorful animated sequence that people will remember for years to come. With support from the city of Portland and to provide as many viewing angles as possible, Free Street at Congress Street will be closed to traffic on the evening of Feb. 3. The projection was designed and animated by p3, and technical assistance is provided by Headlight Audio Visual, Inc.

Many more community partners will be involved—including ice sculptors, food trucks, and the Friends of Congress Square Park—to make Lights Across Congress a festive winter carnival environment and a true party to mark the reopening of the PMA.

The celebration continues beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, as the PMA hosts an open house, encouraging the public to visit the museum for free, engage in several special events, and discover the strength and new visual presentation of the museum’s collection, which features 20 percent more art on view—often in new and surprising places—themed galleries, and interactive, multimedia kiosks.

The Portland Museum of Art is located at 7 Congress Square. For more information, visit www.portlandmuseum.org.