Mark the calendar. The new Memphis Art Museum is opening December 6, 2026, and Shelby County residents will always get in free.
The $180 million facility has been taking shape at Front Street and Union Avenue since breaking ground in June 2023, on the former site of a fire station and parking garage in the heart of downtown. At 122,000 square feet, the building expands the museum’s existing gallery space by 50 percent and adds a 10,000-square-foot community courtyard and a 50,000-square-foot rooftop sculpture garden—one of the largest of its kind in the region.
The opening exhibition lineup is as ambitious as the building itself. Visitors can expect Speaking in Shapes, Medieval Bodies, Rhapsodies in Black, An Inner Vision: Selections from the Hyde Collection, The River Calling: Storytelling in Memphis and the Mississippi Delta, and Head to the Sky. Together, these exhibitions represent a sweeping vision for what a Memphis museum can be: globally connected, locally grounded, and built to welcome everyone.
Free permanent admission for Shelby County residents isn’t a promotion—it’s a policy. The museum is making a clear statement that world-class art belongs to this city, not just to those who can afford to see it. December 6 can’t come fast enough.
