VERO BEACH, FLA.- Vero Beach Museum of Art announced that it has raised $100 million during the quiet phase of Museum in the Garden: The Campaign for VBMA, a landmark initiative supporting a new, expanded home and transformed campus designed by Allied Works in collaboration with Unknown Studio Landscape Architecture & Urban Design. With an overall goal of $126 million, the capital campaign has received support from over 112 donor households, including private individuals and foundations.

News of the Museum’s capital campaign coincided with a groundbreaking ceremony that brought together over 200 civic leaders, project supporters, and stakeholders from across the city and state. The project’s commencement ushers in a new era for the institution, extending its programmatic capabilities, ensuring its long-term sustainability and resiliency, and creating a new public space for community gathering, learning, and exchange.

“This project would not be possible without the extraordinary generosity of the VBMA Board and the Vero Beach community,” said Brady Roberts, Executive Director and CEO of the Vero Beach Museum of Art. “VBMA has long punched above its weight in terms of impact, ambition, and engagement. With this expansion, we are creating a home that reflects the caliber of our programming—a space worthy of our community’s vision and the Museum’s role as a cultural leader.”

“As VBMA approaches its 40th anniversary next year, Allied Work’s visionary design positions the Museum for the future—enabling it to meet growing audience demand, expand capacity to showcase its collection and exhibitions, and strengthen resilience against coastal risks,” added Richard D. Segal, Chair of the Board and Co-Chair of the Building Committee of the Vero Beach Museum of Art. “Ultimately, this transformation is about more than enhancing a building—it’s a lasting investment in the people whose lives are enriched through access to the arts.”

“Having been part of this project from the beginning, it’s inspiring to see how it has become a unifying force for our community,” noted Emily Sherwood, Museum in the Garden Campaign Chair and former Board Chair of the Vero Beach Museum of Art. “We are deeply grateful to our board, volunteers, partners, and the many individuals who have been engaged throughout—recognizing both the need and the project’s potential to enhance our cultural identity and enrich the civic vitality of the region. This effort embodies the spirit of Vero Beach—at its core, incredibly philanthropic. As we launch the public phase of our campaign, we are deeply grateful for the groundswell of enthusiasm from across Vero, and we warmly invite our broader community to join us as valued supporters to help us bring this transformative vision to life.”

Design for the New Vero Beach Museum of Art

Designed by Allied Works with landscape architects Unknown Studio, the VBMA’s new, two-story, 90,000-square-foot home will comprise a series of walled gardens, terraces, and courtyards for art viewing and making, interweaving art and nature and blurring the line between the Museum and Riverside Park. The design embraces the beauty and temperate climate of the site, nestled within Vero Beach’s unique barrier island setting, with terraced landscaping that elevates the building within the park, enhancing its sustainability and resiliency.

The building advances VBMA’s mission to serve as a dynamic and welcoming arts center for the Vero Beach community and for visitors from throughout the region and country. The design invites visitors through multiple entrances onto the first floor, which is entirely free and open to all. There, visitors can access the café, interactive kids’ Art Zone, flexible auditorium and community room, the modern and contemporary gallery, and a dedicated education wing with purpose-built studios for painting, ceramics, and more.

The Museum’s main exhibition spaces, including its collection galleries, sculpture gallery, and special exhibition galleries, occupy the second floor, with interior overlooks providing visual connection to the ground level, and expansive windows framing vistas of the park. The design will also feature a new rooftop terrace offering views overlooking the Indian River Lagoon. Replacing much of the existing, outdated one-story facility, the new, two-story structure more than doubles VBMA’s curatorial capacity with 22,000 square feet of exhibition space, while reducing the overall built footprint, adding back 1.5 acres of new green space.

Museum programming will continue in the VBMA’s current facility through early 2027.