Located at the corner of Gilbert Avenue and Eden Park Drive, this art experience, made possible by our campaign leadership gift from Procter & Gamble, connects the museum’s grounds to the Walnut Hills neighborhood through multiple flights of steps and landings, dynamic lighting features, and sculptures. It spans around 450 feet from the street to our parking lot.

Wyler Family Entrance

Thanks to a generous gift from the Wyler Family Foundation, visitors have a new, convenient way to access the art museum from Eden Park Drive. Our new front drive is open during museum hours.

Interior renovations

With the opening of the Anu & Shekhar Mitra Gallery and enhancements to our Hanna Wing, we’re providing additional, enriching experiences with our collection of works from around the world.

Built in 2019, our front-entrance ramp, made possible through the generosity of the Joseph family of Cincinnati with additional support from an anonymous donor, allows visitors in wheelchairs or with strollers to gain easy access to the museum’s front doors.

Jaume Plensa statue, "Isabella"

Made possible by Craig and Anne Maier, this 6-ton sculpture has welcomed visitors who arrive via our main entrance since January 2022.

Jaume Plensa (Spanish, b. 1955), Isabella, 2014, cast iron, Gift of Craig and Anne Maier, 2021.82

Increased community presence

We’re demonstrating the power of art to new and diverse audiences by growing our community engagement programming and staffing.

Operating endowment growth

We’re better positioned to support our staff, departments, programs and collection, ensuring we can connect communities through the power of art for years to come.

An expansive area with window walls overlooking Eden Park, named the Marek Family Commons, will include two new classrooms—connected by a moveable wall—that will seat 16 and 24 people, respectively, in addition to a large flexible space that can seat up to 144 people.

Importantly, the new rooms will strengthen our service to school field trips by providing dedicated spaces for art making and lunches, widening the timeframe for student visits. The spaces also will serve several of our own public programs.

Ultimately, we will add hands-on art classes for people of all ages, work with more after-school programs, and better fulfill our initiative with Cincinnati Public Schools to provide museum tours and art-making experiences for fourth-grade students across the district.

A new public research center, generously supported by the Carl M. Jacobs Foundation at Fifth Third, will be open for visitors to study photographs, prints, and drawings from our growing collection of over 30,000 works. Long a need, the Jacobs Center, with state-of-the-art features, expands on some of our most important collections and brings our institution to the forefront of international study. In addition to ongoing scholarship, the center will allow researchers and the public access to these works through programs, special engagements, micro exhibitions, and academic requests.

The Marek Family Commons will allow external organizations to reserve meeting space outside of museum operating hours. The 144-seat space will also serve visitors looking for a place to relax and recharge, and a nearby lactation room will be available for nursing mothers. Our special events team will serve all areas from a new, nearby catering room.

The 300-seat Fath Auditorium will receive several audio/visual upgrades. Notably, the DeWitt Entrance, which serves the ground level, will move to our original central axis. Upon entering, visitors can take a new, natural-light-filled staircase connecting the ground level to the Cincinnati Wing on the first floor, where several galleries, the Terrace Café, Gift Shop, Rosenthal Education Center, and more public areas are located.

Other “behind-the-scenes” improvements will include enhanced installation and registration offices, a state-of-the-art photography studio, new air handling systems, and a meeting room for museum volunteers.