Construction of The CORE space at the Broad Art Museum began in June 2023. A grand opening event Friday, Nov. 10, 2023, will celebrate, according to information from the museum, the "new, active, educational space featuring art from the MSU Broad Art Museum’s permanent collection." (Photo courtesy of MSU Broad Art Museum)

MSU’s Broad Celebrates Grand Opening of The CORE

The Broad Art Museum has a lot to celebrate, including its 11th birthday and the grand opening of its transformed lower-level space, The Center for Object Research and Engagement (The CORE).

The CORE grand opening is set for 6-10 p.m. Friday (Nov. 10) at the museum at 547 East Circle Drive on the Michigan State University (MSU) campus. Artsy food, drink, music and activities, including collection-themed screen printing, are planned. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is requested by 3 p.m. Friday.

Interim Director, Director of Curatorial Affairs and Senior Curator Steven L. Bridges said The CORE is an active educational space to encourage learning and opportunities for diverse experiences with art. The transformed 4,500-square-foot-space, formerly gallery space, a conference room and administrative offices, will now be the permanent home to the Broad’s collection of over 10,000 works.

MSU Broad Art Museum Interim Director, Director of Curatorial Affairs and Senior Curator Steven L. Bridges. (Photo courtesy of MSU Broad Art Museum)

“We’ve heard for years a desire to see more of the collection and to have it more prominently displayed,” Bridges said. “And the new center achieves that goal by creating a permanent home for the collection within the museum proper, while also further emphasizing the educational capacity of the collection.” 

The CORE exemplifies Broad’s mission to expand education and engagement with art experiences and the role the arts play within the larger space, across campus and around the world. 

“The collection encourages thinking about the ways these art objects function in a sense as portals or points of access to different cultures, time periods, geographical regions and, ultimately, the makers behind them,” he said. “Through that, we also intend to forward further considerations and opportunities for engagement around diversity, equity and inclusion in that cultural exploration across time and space.”

Close to 300 works will be on view during the first iteration of the opening event, encompassing 5,000 years of art history. Examples include an ancient Chinese scroll painting, American printmaking from the ‘60s, fashion, sculptures, still life, portraits, and works showcasing biodiversity, democracy, refugees, environment, technology, identity, innovation and more. Typically, works will be rotated every six to eight months to give the public new pieces to regularly explore and discover.

Featured in the exhibit will be “We will No Longer Be Seen and Not Heard” by Barbara Kruger (left) and Tony Matelli’s “Weed,” an American painted bronze. (Photos courtesy of MSU Broad Art Museum)

The CORE not only exemplifies the center’s mission, but is also at the heart of the physical museum’s building.

“Based in the lower level of the museum, it kind of sets a foundation for the experience for the rest of the museum,” Bridges said. “While other exhibits and projects rotate over the course of our planning and exhibition schedules at the institution, this collection will always remain a core part of that experience moving forward.”

Although the building itself is recognizable for its unique architecture by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid and well-known for its steel and glass exterior, the lower level provides a unique opportunity for displays. 

While The CORE was still a work in progress, a person views one of the featured pieces of the new exhibit. (Photo courtesy of MSU Broad Art Museum)

Bridges said environmental factors can impact what museums and galleries are able to safely display, as they work to preserve artwork carefully and consciously. Sunlight shining in through angled windows can impact susceptible collection pieces. But in the lower level, they are given a new chance to metaphorically shine, hidden away from the sun’s rays.

“The museum has temperature and humidity controls, but many of our galleries have windows in them. In that case, you’re not always able to control the amount of light in some galleries. Light is one of those key factors that we have to take into consideration,” Bridges said. “Works on paper, color photography, textiles and many other objects are very sensitive to light exposure, which can ultimately fade colors or deteriorate materials and images over time.”

This grand opening of The CORE is the fulfillment of a long-term goal of displaying more of the breadth of the museum’s collection, Bridges said. He hopes the new location can further preserve artwork for years to come. 

“Being in charge of the care of some of these objects, some of which come from 5,000 years ago, it’s important that we take that responsibility very seriously and that they last for another 5,000-plus years,” he said. 

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