On Tuesday, the Musée d’art de Joliette revealed further plans for a $13-million renovation on its site.
Architect Eric Gauthier of the Montreal firm FABG was chosen to design the building, which a release says aims to put the museum “on the cutting-edge of architecture, technology and museology, making it an institution capable of competing with the best museums in the world.”
The main thrust of the project is improving conditions for preserving the 8,500 artworks in the museum’s collection. The building, says Gauthier, currently has “many leaks, and there are vast fluctuations in the levels of humidity and certain weaknesses have been found in the roofing.”
In order to waterproof the building, the envelope, the roof and the insulation will be entirely redone. Gauthier is also taking this opportunity to make the building more “open and inviting,” adding more glass walls and windows.
The project is supported by a grant awarded in 2012 by the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec.
On September 20, the MAJ is also holding an unusual fundraising gala in its empty building; during it, a 2009 mural by Gisele Amantea will be deconstructed and put on sale, among other activities.
Renovations are due to begin in October, with a reopening slated for fall 2014—Joliette’s 150th anniversary. During the course of the renovation, the museum will be located at 110 place Bourget.
