Butler Institute of American Art expands collection storage space

YOUNGSTOWN The Butler Institute of American Art is completing construction on a new 13,000-square-foot storage space designed to house over 22,000 works of art.

This project was overseen by Chief Curator and Collection Manager Liz Hicks, along with the museum's Collections Stewardship Committee.

"This is a huge stepping stone," said Hicks.

The facility, called the Blue Vault, features state-of-the-art hanging storage, which is important in preserving the art. The space located on the basement floor was once a classroom, prior to being shut down around the time of the pandemic. 

There are 40 mobile racks in the vault, each rack can hold more than 600 square feet of hanging art, and more than 300lbs. Works will be protected by industry grade lighting and a water-leak detection system. 

"The long term goal is to get our accreditation back and then hopefully work with other museums that might be having storage issues to show them the process we went through," said Hicks.

The museum lost it's accreditation status last year, which executive director Lou Zona attributed to the Butler's storage situation. However leaders there say storage had been a focal point long before losing that status, seeing that the museum's collection has continued to expand over the years.

"The Butler is about it's collection. This is the first thing that the Butler needs to always take care of. That's how the whole museum started," said Susan Carfano, executive director's assistant.

The Blue Vault is expected to be finished in mid-September, with public access offered September 23 through September 28 before it closes to visitors.

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