Ogunquit Museum of American Art announces strategic partnership with Kevin Daly Architects

The Ogunquit Museum of American Art (OMAA) announces a strategic partnership with renowned architecture firm Kevin Daly Architects (kdA). The partnership includes a study to assess OMAA’s existing challenges and the creation of recommendations for a campus and facility plan as part of a new vision for the future of OMAA that can welcome a diverse audience and help OMAA better meet its mission. KdA is collaborating with the landscape architecture practice Reed Hilderbrand to engage the museum’s coastal landholding. The partnership is part of a long-term strategic plan.

The iconic roofline and unobstructed view of the ocean in the 1952 original building by Charles Worley Jr. offer two recognizable design features that will guide kdA’s approach. According to architect Kevin Daly, “Our sense is that the museum needs to recover some of the elemental simplicity that was inherent in the 50’s building. As the original building evolved, the relationship to the ocean and the coastal setting that was the inspiration for artists and visitors alike has been cut off. The site review will be focused on re-establishing a presence on this outcropping and imagining new encounters between visitors and the coast.” kdA has taken great inspiration from the history of artist communities in Ogunquit going back to Charles Woodbury, including the historic fishing shacks in Perkins Cove.

“Preservation is a key value for our strategic plan,” explains Executive Director Amanda Lahikainen. “We grow from our past and without it we could lose our connection to the early artist’s communities and our landscape.”

Visitors can explore the museum’s history, including blueprints of the original building — an excellent example of mid-century modernism — in the museum’s current exhibition “Architect of a Museum” through Nov. 17.

“We are excited to embark on this partnership in order to begin to understand how OMAA can better serve our growing community, not just in Ogunquit, but throughout the Seacoast region and beyond,” notes Lahikainen. “As we look to the future, we seek to offer the highest standards for visitor experience while addressing challenges with our aging infrastructure, ADA accessibility, collections care, and groups traveling by bus.”

kdA will lead two in-person, public town hall meetings at the museum from 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Nov. 12 to hear feedback from, and better understand the needs of, the local community. We welcome all who are interested in taking part.

The Ogunquit Museum of American Art is at 543 Shore Road, Ogunquit. Opened in 1953, OMAA was founded by the artist Henry Strater. The museum shares close historic and geographic ties to one of the earliest modern arts communities in the United States. OMAA houses a permanent collection of paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints and photographs from the late 1800s to the present. The museum showcases American art by mounting modern and contemporary exhibitions and accompanying educational programming and events. For more information, visit www.ogunquitmuseum.org.