This past weekend I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek at Renzo Piano’s brand new Kimbell Art Museum project. I found myself in this position because I was attending the Texas Society of Architect’s State Convention and had signed up for a tour of the exterior of the building. The project isn’t quite done yet and construction teams are working hard to finish the project in time for the building’s public Grand Opening scheduled for November 27, 2013. As we were milling about waiting for the tour to begin, we were told that they were going to open the building up and give us an extensive look at the interior of the project.
It was a terrific surprise to say the least.
All sorts of information can be found in the Kimbell Art Museum Visitors Guide – which includes floor plans, project and material descriptions – none of which I am going to talk about today. I am just going to publish a handful of the pictures I took so that you can get one of the very first peeks at Renzo Piano’s latest project.
Enjoy.
There is an entire day of festivities planned for the grand opening – and it looks like it will be a fun day. If you are lucky enough to find yourself in Fort Worth on November 27th, activities on site will include:
Wednesday, November 27, 10 AM – 5 PM
Bring your friends and family to be a part of the Grand Opening of your Museum’s new building. To celebrate, the Kimbell will give the first 1,000 guests to the Renzo Piano Pavilion free gifts, which will include collector lapel pins and more.
Grand Opening Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
10 AM
Join board members of the Kimbell Art Foundation, Museum director Eric M. Lee, and other luminaries on the Kimbell Green (located between the two Kimbell buildings) for the official ribbon-cutting event, marking the public opening of the new Renzo Piano Pavilion.
Musical Performances in the Pavilion Auditorium
11 AM
Fei-Fei Dong, Piano
2013 Cliburn competition finalist Fei-Fei Dong, will perform a 30-minute recital including works by Chopin and Liebermann. Presented in partnership with the Van Cliburn Foundation.
1 PM
Fort Worth Opera Studio
Young artists will perform Three Little Pigs as part of the Children’s Opera Theatre educational outreach tour.
3 PM
Christopher McGuire, guitar
Presented with Fort Worth Classic Guitar Society
During your visit, save time for drop-in learning programs available in the new education studios or take a self-guided Cultural District architectural walking tour. Brochures are available at the Pavilion’s Information Desk.