Mass MoCA signs prominent artists for major expansion

The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art will team up with several prominent artists as part of the final phase of its expansion, which is expected to make the institution one of the largest contemporary art museums in the country in terms of square footage.

On Monday, Mass MoCA leaders officially announced that the museum will develop a series of long-term installations by artists including James Turrell, Jenny Holzer and the estates of the late Robert Rauschenberg and Louise Bourgeois.

In addition, the museum will feature installations from musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson and the group Bang on a Can.

The installations are expected to occupy parts of the new galleries and will consist of new and existing works. The museum said that the Turrell installations will include a specially commissioned work as well as an outdoor “skyspace” observatory.

Holzer’s works will include a new piece designed for handheld devices plus a series of indoor light projections featuring changing selections of poetry by different authors.

Leaders at the museum said that the various installations will range in duration from 15 to 25 years.

Mass MoCA said on Monday that the state of Massachusetts has granted $25.4 million to the museum’s previously announced Phase III renovations. (Phases I and II were completed in 2001 and 2013.) In addition, the museum said it has raised $13.5 million of a $30-million goal in additional private capital funding.

The museum, founded in 1999, is located in North Adams, Mass., in the western part of the state. It is located on the site of a renovated 19th century factory campus. Phase III renovations are expected to begin in summer 2015 with a public opening in mid-2017.

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