After almost a year of construction in the historic Pioneer Endicott buildings in St. Paul, the new Minnesota Museum of American Art (the M) will open to the public on Sunday, December 2, 2018 with a full day of free, family-friendly experiences and a suite of new exhibitions.

Among the inaugural exhibitions, 100 Years and Counting: Selections from the Minnesota Museum of American Art features dozens of works from the M’s collection of American art, from 100 years ago to today. It invites viewers into the breadth and depth of this remarkable collection: sculpture, paintings, drawings, photography, mid-century studio craft, early 20th century paintings, works by Paul Manship and George Morrison, as well as recent acquisitions by outstanding living artists like Wendy Red Star, Alec Soth, and Teo Nguyen.

The M has also commissioned New York-based artist Sheila Pepe to create a site-responsive installation for the M’s new Sculpture Court. Sheila Pepe: Softly…Before the Supreme Court refers to architect Cass Gilbert, who designed the Endicott building housing the new museum, as well as the Minnesota State Capitol and the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington D.C. Her crocheted shapes offer a soft, gestural rejoinder to two landmark buildings by one of America’s most famous architects.

The M will animate the streetscape with its new Window Gallery facing Robert Street. For the first installation in the Window Gallery, David Bowen: wave line, Duluth-based multimedia artist David Bowen is capturing real-time wave videos from locations all over the world, and then channeling the data into large screens lit by thousands of LEDs. Passersby will see the virtual undulation of water washing up on shorelines all over the globe – a view on distant shores, as seen through the M’s windows in St. Paul.

The museum’s Josephine Adele Ford Center for Creativity—named for the St. Paul woman who ran 3 to 7 Playways, a company that created play and teaching materials for preschoolers—also opens with the M in December.

In addition to studio art and craft classes for adults and youth, the Center for Creativity will be home to community convenings, drop-in art-making, family activities, and rotating Artist Takeovers. The M’s new Artist Takeover residency program empowers artists of all disciplines to shape the M’s learning spaces as makers, teachers, and creative catalysts. The M’s first Artist Takeover will be led by Rebekah Crisanta de Ybarra, a local artist and co-founder of Electric Machete Studios. She’ll be involved in both class instruction and her own art-making on-site, working in Latinx and Indigenous art forms.

The M's Grand Opening, with live performances, arts activities, and a ribbon cutting, is Sunday, December 2, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Free, at 350 Robert St. N., St. Paul. A ticketed preview party takes place Saturday, December 1, 6:30 p.m.-10 p.m. mmaa.org