Museum to open doors Nov. 8

It's official. The new Art Museum of Western Virginia will open to the public Nov. 8, with a day of festivities featuring a ribbon-cutting, live music, appearances by celebrities and politicians and, of course, the $66 million museum itself.

Entrance that first day will be free. The art museum, which will be known as the Taubman Museum of Art, is considering issuing tickets for various times, however, to keep crowds flowing through smoothly. The museum also may ask the city to close some nearby streets to traffic for the day, external affairs director Kimberly Templeton said.

The building will open at noon Nov. 8 and close at midnight. Museum members (memberships cost $35 -- call Lisa Thomas at 224-1223) will get their first look two days earlier, on Nov. 6, and a gala is scheduled for Nov. 7.

The list of celebrities and dignitaries who will attend is not set. The museum has not yet announced its schedule of temporary exhibits, either, including the ones on opening day. It is trying to confirm its exhibition schedule for the first five years of operation and will announce its first-year schedule in coming months, Templeton said.

The museum also has permanent collections including folk art, Japanese prints, and American paintings by Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Thomas Eakins and others.

The modern-looking building's design is by Los Angeles architect Randall Stout.