US Art Museum expands its galleries - 08/07/2010

The Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio has opened its new galleries that houses items spanning across 5,000 years.

African, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Early Christian and Byzantine art will be on display in the museum's new galleries housed in its 1916 neoclassical building.

The galleries opened on Saturday (June 26th) and are part of an eight-year, $350 million (£230 million) expansion and renovation that started in 2005.

Stephen Fliegal, medieval art curator, thinks the objects look fresh and different in the new installation but the extra space will also be beneficial.

Context has been added to the objects. For example a gallery has been designed in the style of a Byzantine chapel with crosses and sacred vessels.

Curator of Greek and Roman art, Michael Bennett, said: "The objects are grouped in a very logical way now. It allows us to tell the engaging narrative in a very clear and compelling way."

The museum also plans to open a new atrium, a west and north wing, a restaurant and shops and a lifelong learning centre by 2013.

Posted by Oliver Greaves