When the Chazen building expansion opened in 2011, it doubled the square footage of the museum. Despite its growing footprint and prime location, the Chazen still struggled to be seen as a place for all, and its visitation skewed toward arts and humanities students and faculty, and arts enthusiasts. Dr. Amy Gilman started tackling this problem head-on after stepping into the role of director in 2017, initiating a series of significant design and operational changes that would transform who visits the museum and why.
Dr. Gilman talked with us on April 28, 2025, about reimagining university art museums as vibrant third spaces, and the design decisions—both big and small—that have helped make the Chazen more accessible to a broader audience.