The Sun Valley Museum of Art will close its Ketchum facility for 12 weeks beginning in mid-March as the space undergoes a facelift.

During that time at least some of The Museum’s 14 staff members will operate out of the south campus in the Ezra Pound house. Classes, workshops lectures and other programming will take place there, as well.

The improvements and upgrades to the gallery space, education lab and other amenities are much needed and long overdue, said SVMoA’s executive director Jennifer Wells Green.

They will include covering up the front windows to allow more space to hang art, constructing a wall to hide offices and bathroom and offer more exhibit space and turning some existing office or workspace into space that can be utilized for exhibitions. In addition, the reception area will be remodeled to be more welcoming.

“It’ll look more like a museum when it’s through,” said Green.

Adam Elias, a board member of the SVMoA, will oversee the remodel.

The Museum is expected to reopen in late June with a special exhibition culled from local Wood River Valley collections. In the coming weeks the Museum will introduce new Learning and Engagement programs and class offerings for adults, teens and children.

The closure will not impact its film and concert performances.

The renovation does not mean The Museum will not continue efforts to expand its footprint said Green.

“But we need our current facility to meet the caliber of programs we present,” she added.

The Museum spent 19 months designing a new center on the Simplot lot across the street from the Ketchum Post Office. But the board voted to end negotiations in 2014 after owners refused to give the museum a pass on building an 36-space underground parking facility.

A new facility would have given the SVMoA opportunities to provide multi-sensory experiences, and it would have allowed bigger displays that the low ceiling at the current facility does not allow.

MUSEUM PARTNERS WITH BOISE STATE

The Sun Valley Museum of Arts has formed a new partnership with Boise State University’s MUFA Program that will bring talented artists at the university to the Wood River Valley as Teaching Artists.

The graduate students and alumni will assist with adult and youth classes, summer camps and classroom work in which art is used to help students better understand math, geology and other curricula.