Grand Rapids African American history museum secures new building

Leaders of the Grand Rapids African American Museum & Archives gathered Wednesday to announce that they’ve secured a new building with 15 times the space as the old location.

“This move is a great thing for not only the museum, but for the community,” said George Bayard, who founded the museum a decade ago. “We have so many big dreams.”

The Grand Rapids African Museum & Archives, or GRAAMA, has been open inside a 2,000 square foot storefront in the heart of downtown for eight years. Bayard said he always knew that space wouldn’t be big enough for GRAAMA. But it took years to find the right space.

The front of the building at 41 Sheldon in Grand Rapids. The facade shows orange brick. In the window, a realtor sign still shows "Available." In a window in the background is a sign for the Compass College of Film & Media, which previously occupied the building — The Grand Rapids African American Museum & Archives plans to move into its new 30,000 square-foot building at 41 Sheldon by the end of the year.

The new building is at 41 Sheldon, on the southern edge of downtown, a building previously occupied by Compass College of Film & Media. It also served as a hub for ArtPrize and the former home of the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts.

The building also comes with spaces for classrooms, a library and an auditorium.

“The auditorium is a no-brainer for us,” Bayard said. “There are so many events that we have that are based around performance, or plays or movies or video that a 170-seat auditorium is perfect for us.”

He said the space could also be available for others in the community to rent out and host events.

Deborah Bayard, a GRAAMA board member, said the new building will also allow for more classrooms to visit the archives.

“I’m most excited about being able to welcome students in the space,” she said. “We welcome schools to reach out to us. We would love to provide programming for you.”

Leaders also announced they are launching a new capital-campaign to raise $3 million to pay off the building.

George Bayard said 41 Sheldon could become one of the largest Black-owned buildings in the city.

“For our purposes we want to be able to say this is a Black-owned building and it’s paid for,” he said.

The 30,000 square foot building could also serve as a larger attraction for visitors from outside the city as well.

“It’s not only for Grand Rapidians, it’s for anyone across the country,” said GRAAMA vice president Victor Holt. “Come, see. We’ll tell everyone’s story and everyone’s welcome at GRAAMA’s house.”

Museum leaders say the move will be complete by the end of this year.

More information is at graama.org.

Source link