The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in Little Rock will reopen on Saturday after closing for renovations and expansions in 2019.
The museum, located at 501 E. Ninth St. in downtown Little Rock, will hold a grand opening from noon to 8 p.m.
All tickets to the grand opening have been reserved, according to the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts’ website. More than 3,000 people were able to secure passes to the event.
Three Little Rock children are slated to be the first to enter the museum.
Victoria Ramirez, the museum's executive director, said at the grand reopening, "We committed to ensuring that all people from the young to the young at heart will reap the benefits the arts have to offer. And we pledged the new museum would be a preeminent visual and performing arts destination, a source of pride that reflects who we are as a people, and who we aspire to be."
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette staffers tweeted from the event. See more here https://twitter.com/ArkansasOnline.
Starting on May 2, museum's regular hours will be 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday, the website said. The museum will be closed on Mondays.
While admission is always free, timed-entry tickets are “highly recommended” to guarantee admission, the website said. Tickets can be reserved online: https://my.arkmfa.org/8811/
The multi-million dollar expansion began back in 2016, after residents in Little Rock voted and approved a 2% hotel tax to benefit the museum when it was still known as the Arkansas Arts Center. The taxes funded about $31. million of the approximately $160 million raised for the project.
Members of the media were invited to tour the museum as part of a media preview day on Tuesday.
The structure, designed by Chicago-based architectural firm Studio Gang, has grown to 133,000 square feet and features nine galleries, a theater, a "cultural living room," studio classrooms, a space called the "Glass Box," an art reference library and a restaurant.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette also shared scenes from the reopening on Instagram.
Information for this article was contributed by Sean Clancy of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Gallery: Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts reopening
