Feb. 20--Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art will be changing its logo and remaking key portions of its building to make it more friendly to museumgoers, the institution is scheduled to announce Friday morning.
The current restaurant space, 3,000 square feet at the back of the main museum floor, will be turned into a sort of interactive art gallery, a "21st Century engagement zone where visitors and artists share a welcoming space," director Madeleine Grynsztejn said.
The new restaurant, scheduled to open in spring of 2016 after the current one closes earlier that year, will be at street level on the north side of the building and may end up more of a table-service establishment once all details are worked out, Grynsztejn said.
"I would very much hope it becomes a destination," she said.
The museum Friday was to announce the architectural firm Johnston Marklee will oversee the restaurant project as well as "re-imagine the layout of the museum" and "create an architectural master plan," according to the news release.
Also to be announced was the design firm, Mevis Van Deursen, overseeing the graphics transformation and a $10 million gift from longtime supporter and board member Kenneth C. Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel. The MCA's fourth floor galleries are being renamed to honor Griffin.
