Grand reopening: Charleston art museum completes $13 million remake

A $13 million renovation of the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston’s historic district is complete and the museum is reopening to the public.

The Gibbes reopened Saturday after the work that began in the fall of 2014.

The museum, which opened in 1905, has more than 10,000 works in its collection. The renovations opened up 30 percent more gallery space so more of those items can be displayed.

The first-floor renovation adds classrooms, artist studios, lecture and event spaces as well as a cafe and a remodeled museum store. Visitors will be able to see artists at work in the resident studio spaces.

Exhibits being staged with the reopening focus on contemporary art in the South and on “Porgy and Bess,” the opera set in Charleston that’s being presented at Spoleto Festival USA.

Associated Press, The State staff reports

This story was originally published May 29, 2016 at 10:43 PM with the headline "Grand reopening: Charleston art museum completes $13 million remake."