BALTIMORE, MD.- The Baltimore Museum of Art today announced it is embarking on a major renovation and reconceptualization of the Joseph Education Center that will introduce more opportunities for dynamic, hands-on engagement when it reopens in fall 2023. A significant focal point will be the creation of a larger interactive gallery within the 5,625 square-foot center that features new site-specific installations that encourage direct visitor engagement, especially among children, made by internationally acclaimed artists Derrick Adams, Mary Flanagan, and Pablo Helguera. Other elements of the renovation include the development and refurbishment of classrooms that expand available space for art-making and the reimagining of the school tour entrance with an interactive Wall of Wonder that captures the vision and unites the architecture of the center.

The renovation is being supported by Baltimore philanthropists Patricia and Mark Joseph, who have been major donors to the BMA for three decades. They established the center in 2015 with a $3 million gift and are now contributing $2.5 million toward its reconceptualization. The transformation of the Joseph Education Center recognizes the evolving ways people learn, creates new opportunities to incorporate and use new technologies, and establishes more unified areas for intergenerational learning through playful interactions that prompt surprise, socialization, creativity, and further artistic inquiry. Quinn Evans will serve as the project architect and Whiting Turner as the contractor.

“Enhancing the ways in which our visitors experience, learn about, and relate to art is of high priority. We are delighted to have the opportunity to expand the functionality and possibilities of the Joseph Education Center with artist interventions, new technologies, and environments dedicated to making for students of all ages,” said Asma Naeem, BMA Interim Co-Director and Eddie C. and C. Sylvia Brown Chief Curator. “We are grateful to Patricia and Mark Joseph for their generosity and vision in helping us make the education center an even more vital and exciting space within the museum.”

More information about renovation components follows:




• Interactive Gallery: The architectural build-out of the Joseph Education Center will enlarge the footprint of the interactive gallery by 625 sq. ft., connecting it directly to the East Lobby, the museum’s primary entrance. The transformed gallery will create opportunities for visitors to engage with abstract concepts in tangible ways and supports multiple learning styles, especially tactile learning. Hands-on exhibits created by artists Derrick Adams, Mary Flanagan, and Pablo Helguera will be primarily geared toward children, but the environment will allow for adults to engage in playful activities as well. These works will be on view for approximately three years.

• Dry Media Classroom: This room adds a much-needed second classroom that will substantially expand the museum’s ability to host school and other tour groups and deepen our commitment to engaging visitors in artmaking. The room will also host a space for evaluation, visitor response, and dialogue, allowing us to continue learning from and with our visitors. Additional improvements to the wet media studio/classroom will also be made.

• Wet Media Studio: The most flexible space for artmaking and one of the most popular areas of the first iteration of the Joseph Education Center, this classroom will be reconceptualized so that it can be programmed for lightly facilitated drop-in art experiences during regular hours.

• Wall of Wonder and School Entrance: The Wall of Wonder is a key architectural element that physically and conceptually unifies the center. It will house bespoke storage for school tours, making the arrival for groups smoother and more welcoming. A display of monitors, touchable drawers, material samples, and other interactive elements will encourage visitors to consider how artists play and the materials with which they play.

“Patricia and I are pleased to support the new experiences and technologies which will be unveiled next fall,” said Mark Joseph. “We look forward to school students and visitors of all ages experiencing the new center.”