Board of Regents approves name for Kennesaw State University Art Museum
Museum will be named for benefactor Bernard A. Zuckerman
KENNESAW, Ga.—The University…
Georgia
(Apr 18, 2012) —
Museum will be named for benefactor Bernard A. Zuckerman
KENNESAW, Ga.—The University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents approved Kennesaw State University's
proposal to name Phase II of its Art Museum in honor of university benefactor Bernard
A. Zuckerman. The Regents approved construction of KSU’s $3 million, 9,200-square-foot
facility last month. Construction could begin as early as this summer and is expected
to be completed in March 2013.
The Bernard A. Zuckerman Art Museum will house the university's permanent art collection,
provide a center for interdisciplinary research, and will serve as a cultural resource
for the community. It includes three rotating exhibition galleries as well as the
Ruth V. Zuckerman Pavilion, a glass atrium devoted to the sculpture work of Bernard
Zuckerman's late wife, who was renowned for her work in stone and bronze.
The naming honors Mr. Zuckerman's $2 million pledge for the construction of the museum.
The remaining funds have been raised from a variety of private gifts from individuals,
corporations, and foundations, including the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation in Atlanta.
Bernard and Ruth Zuckerman moved to Atlanta from New York in the early 1970s to be
closer to his work in the North Georgia carpet industry. Mrs. Zuckerman made annual
trips to Italy to select her marble and carved many of her sculptures there. Following
her death in 1996, Mr. Zuckerman donated 97 of her works, plus her notes, sketches
and maquettes to the permanent art collection at Kennesaw State, where she had been
preparing an exhibition of her work. Pieces from that body of work have been displayed
in various locations on campus, including the Anna F. Henriquez Atrium of the Dr.
Bobbie Bailey & Family Performance Center, where concertgoers can view 18 of the larger
sculptures. The Zuckerman Art Museum will adjoin the Henriquez Atrium allowing for
the exhibition space to be expanded. It will also allow campus visitors to move easily
between the university's performance venues and exhibition venues.
“The art museum will become the hub of the Arts District on campus, providing a welcoming
center that physically connects the corridor between the concert hall of the Bailey
Performance Center and the two theaters,” said College of the Arts Dean Joseph Meeks.
“Students and the community will be able to partake in multiple arts experiences on
every visit to campus.”
Meeks further explained, “We are so honored by Bernard Zuckerman's generosity and
his vision. The university has been working to build a truly stellar art museum for
many years, but it has been possible because Mr. Zuckerman made this commitment to
it. Then, he inspired others to enroll in the vision.”
Other artists represented in the university's expansive art collection include Marc
Chagall, Rembrandt Peale, Viola Frey, Norman Rockwell, Howard Finster, Pierre-August
Renoir, Lamar Dodd, Thomas Hart Benton, Frederic Remington, James Abbott McNeil Whistler,
N.C. Wyeth, Athos Menaboni and many others.
The Bernard A. Zuckerman Art Museum is being designed by Stanley Beaman & Sears, the
firm which recently completed the expansion of the Georgia Museum of Art in Athens.
# # #
Kennesaw State University is the third-largest university in Georgia, offering 80
graduate and undergraduate degrees, including doctorates in education, business and
nursing, and a Ph.D. in international conflict management. A member of the 35-unit
University System of Georgia, Kennesaw State is a comprehensive, residential institution
with a growing population of 24,100 students from more than 130 countries.
The KSU College of the Arts is one of only four Georgia institutions to have achieved
full national accreditation for all of its arts departments.
For media inquiries: Cheryl Anderson Brown, Director of Public Relations 770-499-3417
or cbrown@kennesaw.edu
A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 41,000 students. With 11 colleges on two metro Atlanta campuses, Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia and the second-largest university in the state. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the region and from 126 countries across the globe. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 6 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.
