Denver Art Museum to expand its textile section by six times

The textile section of the Denver Art Museum is on the way to changing its size from small to extra-large.

Thanks to a $3 million donation from the Avenir Foundation, which supports education and cultural activities, the DAM will increase the size of its textile space by more than six times, according to a DAM press release.

The new space will be more than 7,000 square feet of level six in the North Building. The expansion will allow curators to show more of the DAM’s textile collection, increase conservation, and create space for scientific developments. It will also help Denver host more loaned exhibitions and provide patrons more hands-on activity within the section.

“The new space offers many exciting possibilities for the textile art department,” said Alice Zrebiec, the Avenir Foundation curator of textile art, in the press release. “Relocating and vastly expanding the gallery increases the opportunity for the public to discover this diverse collection, which spans the Americas, Europe and Asia and includes objects from ancient times to current day.”

The donation has also encouraged other patrons to donate money to the textile department, letting the DAM broaden the section. The finished galleries are planned for a summer 2013 opening.