CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Museum of Art is a good place to spend a snow day.
The atrium looks lovely and festive, and it's all decked out for the holidays right now.
But that’s not all you’ll notice that’s new.
The renovated lower and main lobbies have now reopened, and improves the customer experience, they say, and better connects people through art.
“Each of these cases was created with community members,” said Sabine Kretzschmar, manager of the education art collection.
Kretzschmar is talking about the new display cases in the newly renovated lower lobby of The Cleveland Museum of Art.
One such case features a Stanley tumbler and other 21st-century drinkware showcased among pieces of the museum’s education art collection, that has more than 10,000 objects spanning close to 6,000 years from all around the world.
“I want people to know that this collection is theirs, it’s for them,” she said.
The Education Art Collection is used in all kinds of programs, both onsite and for off-site visits, which means their audience gets to handle them and even help make decisions about how they’re displayed.
“It’s just another way to kind of get those curiosity juices sparked,” she said.
The redone lower lobby also allows more room to welcome an increasing number of school groups.
There is also fresh lighting, paint, and graphics.
Kretzschmar says they have also pulled in more community curation, like the relevance of the cool drinking cups throughout history.
“All of these works of art are witnesses to human history through time and they can connect us to the past and it can connect us to each other,” she explained.
For example, the case has containers— including the Stanely— from around the world and across time.
“We can see our similarities and differences among cultures,” Kretzschmar said.
She said these objects get people talking.
The museum’s main lobby has also reopened after eight months of renovations.
The architectural integrity has been maintained, but you’ll notice new lighting and a massive new digital screen to display museum events.
Events that include Picasso and Paper, showcasing nearly 300 works spanning his 80-year career.
The exhibit opens to the public on Dec. 8.
Cleveland is the only North American venue that has the exhibit. It is highly anticipated as it was supposed to debut back in 2020.
Daily admission to the Cleveland Museum of Art is free, but special exhibits, like Picasso and Paper, are ticketed and have a cost.
There is also a free family play day at the museum on Dec. 8 from 10-2 p.m.
