Museum of Nebraska Art in Kearney gets additional state financial boost for expansion, restoration

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - A $31.5-million expansion of the Museum of Nebraska Art in Kearney got a big financial boost this week, in part because other projects in the 3rd Congressional District didn't launch their projects by deadline or needed less grant funding than planned.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Gov. Jim Pillen announced that the art museum expansion project — which will double the size of the facility — will receive an additional $730,000 in state and federal "shovel-ready" grant funds.

MONA was initially awarded $115,835 in 2022 through the primarily, federally funded Shovel-Ready Capital Recovery & Investment Act program.

But the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, which implements the grant program, was able to up that award to $845,767 after some funds were returned because projects didn't begin construction by the June 30, 2022, deadline or fewer funds were required of projects in the 3rd Congressional District.

Studio, galleries, sculpture garden Coupled with a state tourism grant of $225,000 awarded a year ago, it brings the state's investment to over $1 million for the art museum expansion project. It will add 23,000 square feet to MONA, including a community studio, modernized galleries, an expanded sculpture garden and space to host events and performances. Completion is scheduled later this year.

In a press release, MONA Executive Director Andrew Dunehoo said the expansion will increase the museum's ability to host larger and more diverse exhibitions and programs, and strengthen its role in the cultural revitalization of downtown Kearney.

Pillen, at a press conference held Wednesday in front of the former post office-turned-museum, said MONA is Nebraska's "official collection of art" from Nebraska artists.

"It displays who we are as a people," Pillen said.

Museum opened in 1986 The Museum of Nebraska Art opened in 1986, 10 years after the Nebraska Art Collection began. The museum is housed in a former U.S. Postal Service building, constructed in 1911, that is on the National Register of Historic Places. The expansion will nearly double the museum's space.

In 2022, DED announced $115 million of grants — apportioned by the 3rd Congressional District— through the Shovel-Ready Capital Recovery & Investment Act program.

The funds were intended to support nonprofit organizations who experienced negative economic impacts because of the coronavirus pandemic. The funds assisted awardees with completion of capital projects delayed by the pandemic. If projects didn't begin by the June 2022 deadline, funds were returned and redistributed, a DED official said.