The Polk Museum of Art is a nationally accredited Smithsonian Affiliate Museum in Lakeland, Florida. It is a member of the Florida Association of Museums and is ranked among the top art museums in the state of Florida. Since its academic affiliation with Florida Southern College in 2017, the Museum has unceasingly continued to support the arts within the local community while increasing and improving academic opportunities for students, faculty, and the general public. The Polk Museum of Art was one of 21 museums selected to be featured in Museum Design – Planning and Building for Art published by Oxford University Press in association with the American Confederation of Arts and the National Endowment of the Arts. The museum was also recognized in Florida Trend magazine in an article titled “Works of Art Within A Work of Art.”
The museum currently displays art from the Pre-Columbian era through the contemporary, featuring hundreds of works each year in a variety of exhibits. These exhibits often revolve around a central theme or idea and link artworks from the ancient past with those of modern artists. The Polk Museum of Art now boasts a permanent collection of over 2,800 works and several traveling exhibits that provide diverse displays ranging from American folk art, modern masters, Japanese prints and textiles, to African art, a permanent Pre-Columbian display, and much more.
As the Museum’s perennial design partner, it is with elevated pride that STA was engaged by the Owner to perform architectural design services for the upcoming renovation / expansion to the Polk Museum of Art at Florida Southern College, with completion scheduled for 2024.
On February 22, 2022, the Polk Museum of Art at Florida Southern College announced its plans for a $6mm expansion and renovation. The expansion will add more than 10,000 square feet of classroom, gallery, and art laboratory space to the Museum. The two-story addition will be located on the northwest side of the existing structure and will modernize the Museum’s façade.
With the new changes, the Polk Museum of Art and Florida Southern College continue their trajectory toward becoming home to one of the nation’s leading academic fine art museums and scholarly centers for the study of the arts and visual culture. The expansion will provide additional hands-on experiences for students, including internships, volunteer opportunities, and pre-professional development programs. [Source: PR Newswire].
