The Harn Museum of Art will open an expanded 26,000-square-foot Asian art wing to the public in spring 2012.
The new wing will hold 2,000 Asian art works from the permanent collection on rotating view.
David A. Cofrin and his wife, Mary Ann, gave the museum a $10 million gift in support of the museum’s new oriental expansion.
Cofrin entrusted a $1 million endowment for the acquisition of Asian art and 312 art pieces valued at $4.1 million.
The wing will feature two Asian-inspired gardens, which will be named after Cofrin.
The galleries will be dedicated to art pieces from China, India, Japan, Korea, and South and Southeast Asia.
This will make the museum the leading southeastern U.S. center for the study and preservation of Asian art influence.
“The new wing will create immense opportunities for engagement and collaboration with students and professors across academic departments at the University of Florida,” said Jason Steuber, the Cofrin curator of Asian art. “The Harn Museum will expand its leadership role as a noted center for Asian art exhibitions, symposia, research and scholarly publications.”
Tami Wroath, director of marketing and public relations at the museum, said the Harn Museum will host a special “Museum Nights” event to celebrate the opening of the art wing.
Wroath said that over the next four to six months the team will announce the official opening date.
