After much anticipation, the Cleveland Museum of Art threw open the doors of their new Ames Family Atrium, bookstore and restaurant on Sun 10/28 while an estimated 3500 visitors enjoyed music, dance and free tours of the Museum as the centerpiece of it’s audacious $350 million renovation and expansion.
View the Cool Cleveland PHOTOSTREAM here.
They’re calling the new Atrium the largest free public space in the region. Visitors can enter the Museum and much of the collection for free anytime it’s open. And that includes the bookstore, Atrium and the new Provenance restaurant by Cleveland chef Doug Katz. Catch our Cool Cleveland walk-through with Katz here.
We hooked up with Sue, one of the docents, who graciously led us through Mary Cassatt and the Feminine Ideal in 19th-Century Paris, as well as the incredible East Wing, featuring the Museum’s growing collection of Modern art. Folks were lined up around the corner to view Martin Creed’s Work Number 965: Half the air in a given space, a half room full of inflated 11-inch purple balloons that kids can walk through.
We caught the set by Cleveland’s own Harmonia, playing folk & Gypsy music from Eastern Europe. The day also featured performances by West African, Israeli, Irish, Hungarian, Chinese, and Ancient Mexican dancers, drummers and singers.