Local arts: CFAM changes name, address

A rendering of the Rollins Museum of Art as it might appear in its new location

IMAGE COURTESY OF ROLLINS COLLEGE

MOVIN’ ON UP

Rollins’ Cornell Fine Arts Museum will change its name this fall, and eventually move into a larger space off campus

BY NELLY ONTIVEROS CERVANTES

Rollins College’s Cornell Fine Arts Museum is changing its name in September, as the first step toward moving the museum into a new home in downtown Winter Park.

Once completed, the new Rollins Museum of Art will be located one block off Park Avenue, at the intersection of Interlachen and New England avenues across from the Alfond Inn, where part of Rollins’ contemporary art collection is already exhibited.

CFAM Director Dr. Ena Heller told Orlando Weekly that the new endeavor will give the museum a larger platform and more visibility.

The new facility, featuring larger galleries, an auditorium and a café, will also include an education center with programs for students K-12 and several study rooms for college students. These rooms will allow more students to have access to the museum’s collection for class activities, seminars and research, according to Heller.

Heller added that the expansion will make learning accessible for the public, something she said was necessary as the Cornell is the only academic art museum in the greater Orlando area.

“We serve not only the Rollins faculty and students, but we also work increasingly with students from UCF and Valencia [College],” Heller said. “We want to establish the new museum as an important resource for the other colleges and universities in our area that do not have their own museum.”

Winter Park spokeswoman Clarissa Howard said the new building will contribute to the city’s vision of being a center of “culture and heritage” while gifting something invaluable to residents.

“Within 10 square miles we have over 17 nonprofit arts and culture organizations in our city limits,” Howard said. “This new Rollins Museum of Art will add to our already diverse cultural amenities.”

According to a press release announcing the move, the Cornell’s visitor count has more than quadrupled over the last decade. The museum’s new location is expected to aid this trend while keeping a close connection to Rollins.

“The Rollins Museum of Art can, and will, serve a wider and more diverse community, while at the same time emphasizing its unique characteristics as the only teaching museum in greater Orlando, embodying our college’s mission and values,” said Rollins College President Grant Cornwell in a press release.

Visitors will be able to visit exhibitions at no cost year-round. More information on CFAM’s summer events can be found on its website at cfam.rollins.edu.

The name change will go into effect immediately, so expect to hear about the Rollins Museum of Art’s fall season soon.

arts@orlandoweekly.com