Dale Chihuly The C**** Word Design and Fall RISD Opens New Art Center Extreme Art Koons Doodles on Google Latest Chihuly Work Girds Itself in Fight against English Nature Worlds First Chihuly Museum Planned in Florida

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The new 132, 286-square-foot Taylor Museum, designed by Denver architect David Owen Tryba, includes a permanent collections wing, traveling exhibitions wing, a courtyard, event spaces, seven new art studios, a new restaurant and a “tactile gallery,” where visitors can touch the art.

Theater restorations and a center-wide technology upgrade also are part of the plan for the 70-year-old institution, which houses one of the largest collections of Native American and Southwestern Art in the country.

Last year, membership at the arts center increased to 9,315 households and a summer 2006 Dale Chihuly exhibition saw record crowds.

In November, its acquisitions committee and board of trustees approved a $1 million purchase of historic Chihuly glass valued at $1.4 million, which will add to the center’s already impressive permanent collection.

“Looking ahead, the Fine Arts Center will be the premier museum and arts education facility in the region,” said volunteer campaign co-chairman Buck Blessing.

The expansion is expected to be completed in the fall.