The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts announced Thursday that the remade museum will open to the public in May 2022, which tracks with officials' long-held goal to reopen the downtown Little Rock center by next spring.
Formerly called the Arkansas Arts Center, the MacArthur Park museum closed in summer 2019 to undergo a $142 million expansion and renovation. The price tag includes construction costs as well as soft costs, such as the design contract and money raised to expand the museum's endowment.
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Signature features of the new building include a glass-paned gathering space facing the city skyline, a curved roof and redone galleries. The original 1937 "Museum of Fine Arts" entrance has also been restored.