University Still Counting on Museum Plaza

The University of Louisville is still counting on the construction of Museum Plaza to expand their fine arts program. WFPL’s Elizabeth Kramer reports.Some Louisville Metro Council members have raised concerns about the financing and construction of Museum Plaza, but University of Louisville officials say they’re still depending on the project to provide space for a Master of Fine Arts program.Shirley Willihnganz is the Provost at U of L."We can’t expand a program in studio arts until we have more space," she says. "And so, (the reason) we’re hoping that Museum Plaza can move forward quickly is that that was the space that we were going to move it into."Plans for the $490 million project include three floors for the university that will hold galleries, artist studios and a hot shop for glass artists.Willihnganz says the university hasn’t identified any other space for the program if the project falls through."We’ll have to figure out a plan B, but at the moment we’re still really hopeful Museum Plaza will be it," she says.One of the developers of Museum Plaza — Steve Poe — has been a member of U of L’s Board of Trustees since 2004.