Governor Announces Funding

For The Aldrich Museum

RIDGEFIELD — Governor John G. Rowland has approved $1 million in state support for the currently in progress $9 million renovation and expansion project at The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art. The funding was approved at the January 30, 2004, meeting of the State Bond Commission.

The expansion and renovation project will double the existing size of The Aldrich, at 258 Main Street in Ridgefield. The museum’s new galleries will open to the public on June 13, 2004, with a series of events, special exhibitions, and site-specific installations that will inaugurate the reopening season.

The landscaping and sculpture garden are slated for completion in September 2004, and the entire project and capital campaign is to be completed by December 31, 2004.

The museum’s 25,000 square feet of new and redesigned space will accommodate 12 galleries, a 100-seat performance space, a state-of-the art education center, improved visitor amenities, and a redesigned outdoor sculpture garden.

“We are indebted to the hard work of State Representative John Frey, who has worked tirelessly to make this funding from the state possible,” said Aldrich Museum chairman of the board Kathleen O’Grady, “and to Governor Rowland for recognizing The Aldrich as an important cultural institution for our community and the state of Connecticut.”

The Aldrich Museum has been a fixture in Ridgefield since it opened in 1964. It now boasts an internationally-recognized exhibition program; education courses highlighted by the Student Docent Program, which has become a national model for museum education; and cultural presentations with concerts by Grammy Award-winning performers from Philip Glass to Cassandra Wilson, and readings and book signings with Pulitzer Pprize winning author Michael Chabon and radio host Ira Glass, among many others.

The Aldrich’s construction and renovation project aims to create a building that reaches the same level of quality as the groundbreaking exhibitions, educational and cultural programming the institution has become known for.

Visit www.AldrichArt.org for information on off-site events and exhibitions while the museum is closed for a major renovation and expansion project.