The Muscarelle Museum is moving in to Merchants Square.
The Muscarelle Museum of Art has signed a lease with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation for space in Merchants Square previously occupied by the Williamsburg Art Gallery, according to a press release from Cushman and Wakefield Thalhimer, real estate broker for Merchants Square.
The Williamsburg Art Gallery, which has been open since August 2015, is leaving Merchants Square on Sept. 1 and will transition to an online-only gallery so the owners can spend more time painting.
The Muscarelle will take over roughly 4,300 square feet in the Art Gallery’s current location at 440A West Duke of Gloucester Street.
The museum closed in May, as did Phi Beta Kappa Hall, while construction of the Martha Wren Briggs Center for the Visual Arts and William and Mary’s new Arts Quarter takes place. The project is expected to be complete in 2021.
The museum will start moving in to the new space in September, said Jeff Duncan, vice president of real estate for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. The Muscarelle will use the space for exhibits while the Martha Wren Briggs Center is under construction.
“This will allow them to continue to have a presence downtown while they’re undergoing renovation,” Duncan. “We have a very long history of supporting the arts in Merchants Square.”
Duncan said the Muscarelle signed a two-year lease for the space. William & Mary previously secured a lease to operate the Kimball Theatre while Phi Beta Kappa Hall is being renovated.
The Muscarelle did not immediately respond to request for comment Thursday.
