PORTSMOUTH- In a unique moment of major development for the Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center, the organization will close its exhibition space for a brief time as they focus on expanding its footprint in the largest way it has done since its inception in 1979.

The expansion comes with the first ever new built space that will be attached to their historic property, which is the former Security Central Bank.

The impressive space has featured a 100-seat theatre, five gallery spaces, a library, a meeting space, and offices for some time. In recent years, the SOMACC staff have worked hard to improve on existing classrooms, develop an appropriate depository for art not being displayed, and more.

The expansion being developed now includes an additional 3,000 square feet.

“We’re nervous and excited to go into this new phase of Museum history,” Artistic Director Charlotte Gordon said. “The founders of this museum built a very, very strong museum. The foundation is very strong. While we will be closed for 12 months, we are confident that, when we reemerge, we will have much more square footage.”

The new build will allow SOMACC to better display permanent collection pieces and improve opportunities for traveling exhibitions.

“The entire original building will be used for collection objects. We have more than 25,000 objects in our collection,” Gordon explained. “In the last decade, we have gone out of our way to collect works of arts from under represented artists, to conceptualize works we already have and put them in a much broader context, such as Clarence Carter or 20th Century Crafts and folk arts from the region.”

These collections are important to Gordon and staff.

“We have an impressive permanent collection, and the folk art and craft side of things are especially prominent. It has been frustrating for us, at the Museum, to determine how long we can put something out before we rotate it, to truly show the community what treasures we have,” Gordon said. “So, in gaining all this square footage will make a major difference for us.”

Gordon explained that existing space will be used for permanent collections and the new space will be used for temporary exhibitions.

“The space will have a ceiling we can hang from, we will have more electrical capabilities, and we will be able to mount projects for moving objects,” Gordon said. “We really look at expanding what the capability of what we can bring into the area.”

The classroom spaces and hands-on educational spaces are also being looked at, and Gordon claimed the conference room is being widened to accommodate more activities and even a second classroom if necessary.

“The strength of the museum is that we are a place for a lot of informal education and you can learn and explore at your own pace, based on how you respond to the objects,” Gordon explained.

The Museum closes this Saturday, September 7, with people having only the hours of 1-5p.m. to explore before they start taking down exhibits and begin work on development.

Gordon said that one exhibition worth checking out before the close is A New World: Ohio Women to Watch in 2023, which is co-curated by Sso-Sha Kang and Matt Distel, a collaboration with the Ohio Advisory Group of the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Featured artists include Kat Burdine, Cleveland; Kara Güt, North Olmsted; Sharon Koelblinger, Kent; Calista Lyon, Columbus; Migiwa Orimo, Yellow Springs; Kristina Paabus, Cleveland; Erykah Townsend, Cleveland; Thu Tran, Cleveland; Catherine Whited, Cincinnati; and Xia Zhang, Cincinnati.

According to SOMACC, “The eleven Ohio-based women artists of A New World explore the alternative ways of thinking, making, and seeing that challenge dominant systems of navigating the world. The resulting new worlds are slight but important interpretations of how the artists navigate their own realities to reimagine our existing world.”

Gordon says the museum is looking forward to much better things, but people should visit this Saturday.

“To get your art fix in before we close, get in this Saturday,” Gordon said.

For more information on SOMACC, follow the organization on social media or online at www.somacc.com. Someone may be contacted by telephone at 740.354.5629. The Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center is at 825 Gallia Street. There is a handicap-accessible entrance on Sixth Street.