Macon’s museum devoted to African-American art, history and culture is getting a new home.
Mayor C. Jack Ellis announced plans to construct a 46,000-square-foot facility for a new Tubman African American Museum.
The building completes Macon’s arts, entertainment and cultural corridor, which includes the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, the restored Douglass Theater and the Macon Centreplex.
To underscore the city’s support, Ellis is heading the capital campaign for the $15 million building, which he called “the largest fund-raising effort central Georgia has ever seen for a cultural or arts organization.” The board and local foundations have already promised $7.4 million.
The museum plans a February groundbreaking and a grand opening on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 2003.
The Tubman, which had 65,000 visitors in 1999, has been operating in a cramped, 8,500-square-foot renovated warehouse since opening in 1985. That has meant dismantling permanent exhibits to accommodate traveling shows, and being limited by 8-foot ceilings. A number of its programs, including children’s dance and art classes, occur off the site. There is not even room to store the permanent collection.
The new museum will unite all activities under one roof, add space especially for temporary exhibitions and encompass a cafe and more room for the museum shop, which specializes in Afrocentric items. Two 4,000-square-foot galleries will chronicle the African-American experience from 1619 to the present.
“So many of our visitors are coming to a museum for the first time, we wanted it to be welcoming but impressive,” said Tubman director Carey Pickard.
Already the largest African-American museum in Georgia, the Tubman hopes its new facility will establish it as a regional center for education about African-American issues while capping the city’s downtown revitalization plans. Bibb County donated the land for the project, and the city helped fund a portion of the initial planning.
“It will be the most significant addition to downtown Macon in our lifetime,” Ellis said, “and will change the face of our city.”
