PRESS RELEASE

July 23, 2003

Contact:
Katie Sproles, (541) 346-0942, ksproles@darkwing.uoregon.edu


UO DAYBOOK
NEWS AND PHOTO TIP, July 24

DONORS LEAVE THEIR MARK ON NEW UO MUSEUM OF ART

A 35-foot beam, signed by major donors to the University of Oregon Museum of Art's $12.72 million renovation and expansion project, will be lifted onto the frame of the structure at 1 p.m., tomorrow (Thursday, July 24). Guests and construction crew members, wearing commemorative t-shirts and hard hats, will sign the beam and then look on as a 175-foot crane lowers it into place on the south tower of the new addition. "As we watch the daily progress on the
construction site, we are not only witnessing the fulfillment of our dreams, but also the dreams of our founders and of every person that has contributed to this project," explains Museum Director David Turner. Crews will begin work on the roof of the new wings after the
structural steelwork is complete. When construction is finished in February of 2004, staff will begin the process of moving the museum's collection of more than 12,000 objects back into the building; designing the interiors, including a new museum shop and café; and installing exhibits in nine galleries, six of which are brand new spaces. The UO Museum of Art is scheduled to reopen in fall of 2004.


###