An architect’s rendering of what part of the Vance Wall Art Education Center will look like.
The Montclair Art Museum will begin construction, this month, on a new education center that will open next year. The Vance Wall Art Education Center, made possible by a $5 million donation from Carol and Terry Wall, will enable the museum to greatly enhance its educational offerings.
The center will have its own director, Leah Fox — most recently the director of interpretation and audience engagement at the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, N.H. — and will be located in the museum itself. It will have its own entrance, though, to be named after former museum president Nathanial C. Harris.
“Over 2,000 students of all ages are enrolled in the Museum’s Yard School of Art (a studio program that will continue to exist as part of the Vance Wall Education Center),” said Carol Wall, in a press release. “That extraordinarily high number indicates the resounding enthusiasm for arts education in the Montclair area and was the impetus for the creation of the Vance Wall Arts Education Center. My dream is the Center will expand and unify our program to provide an even richer and more comprehensive arts education for everyone from toddlers to seniors.”
The museum announced its plans for the education center at a Sept. 30 event that was titled “Celebration of MAM’s Future” and featured a speech by Newark superintendent of schools and former state education commissioner Christopher Cerf.
