110-Year-Old Memphis Art Museum Closes Its Doors: Reopening as Memphis Art Museum on the Mississippi Riverfront

MEMPHIS, USA – A 110-year chapter in Tennessee’s art history closes on Sunday, September 27, 2026. The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, opened in 1916 as the Brooks Memorial Art Gallery, will close its doors in Overton Park at 5:00 PM local time, marking the end of an era for the city’s oldest cultural institution.

Throughout September, admission to the museum has been free, giving the public the chance for a farewell with the collection that includes more than 10,000 works of art spanning 5,000 years of art history. Final exhibitions include the retrospective “Memphis College of Art, 1936–2020: An Enduring Legacy” and the installation “David Uzochukwu: Bodies of Water.”

But the closing is not a final farewell. The collection will move to a brand-new $222 million building on the banks of the Mississippi River, where the museum will reopen on December 6, 2026 with the new name Memphis Art Museum.

With the reopening, the museum will offer free admission forever for Shelby County residents, making art more accessible than ever for the local community. From the 1916 memorial gallery to a modern museum by the river – the institution enters a new century of its existence with a renewed mission, The Commercial Appeal of Memphis reports.