The MFA is beginning an exciting transformation called Art Unbound. This is a multi-phase project that will reimagine how you experience the museum, from the collection galleries to transitional spaces and the outdoor campus.

Rather than simply presenting art by date or geographic region, the updated collection galleries will explore universal human themes and bring works from different cultures and time periods into conversation with one another.

The permanent collection will be closed for a few months during this reimagination.

To learn more about Art Unbound, click here.

The MFA has always aspired to be a “place for the people,” inspired by founder Margaret Acheson Stuart. Art Unbound builds on that legacy by creating a museum that feels more accessible, community-centered, and relevant to a wide range of visitors. The goal is to create a more welcoming, dynamic museum experience where art encourages curiosity, conversation, and connection.

Beginning September 21, 2026, the collection galleries will temporarily close while the MFA prepares the new installation. The collection galleries are scheduled to reopen November 21, 2026.

The temporary gallery closure does not mean the entire museum is closed. Visitors can still experience New African Masquerades, visit the MFA Shop, and enjoy Café Clementine. The museum will also continue offering programs and events such as Art After Dark, Marly Music, Homeschool Hours and Studio Saturdays. To view all our upcoming events, click here.

Yes! 

New African Masquerades: Artistic Innovations and Collaborations will be on view during the MFA Collection closure. New African Masquerades shares the stories of four masquerade artists: Chief Ekpenyong Bassey Nsa (Nigeria), David Sanou (Burkina Faso), Sheku “Goldenfinger” Fofanah (Sierra Leone), and Hervé Youmbi (Cameroon), exploring their motivations, their artistic choices, the patronage and economic networks with which they engage, and how the artists adapt their respective genres in response to current circumstances and changing trends, locally and globally.

Beginning in October in the upstairs gallery, we'll continue our live conservation series with Luis Seixas. This exhibition highlights the final phase of Seixas’s conservation of the museum’s Tabernacle of Saints Peter and Paul. The long, complicated treatment of this extraordinary gilded, painted, and carved piece of art will stabilize and visually reintegrate its decoration. As part of Art Unbound it will be placed the collection galleries in 2028, inviting fresh conversations and perspectives about this extraordinary object.

Yes! The MFA will remain an active gathering place throughout the reinstallation, with a robust schedule of cultural and creative programming.

A highlight is an evening with GRAMMY Award-winning guitarist and composer Andrew York, performing October 22 at 7 pm in the Marly Room. Additional performances include Classical Revolution (Sept. 24), Sundé (Oct. 8), and Fern & Friends (Nov. 12).

There will also be book clubs, writing and ceramic workshops, a T-shirt screen-printing pop-up, homeschool hours, and Studio Saturdays. Culinary programming at Café Clementine will include L’Apéro evenings, wine tastings, and returning raw bar pop-ups from Lost Coast Oyster Co.

For complete information on upcoming events, mfastpete.org/events-calendar.

Admission to the exhibition New African Masquerades: Artistic Innovations and Collaborations will be offered at a discounted rate.

Adults: $16
Discounted: (Seniors, Educators, College Students, Military): $14
Youth 7-17: $10
Under Age 6: Free
Members: Free
Groups of 15 or more: $14 per person

Admission for Art After Dark will be $16.

All of your favorite works of art, from Elisabeth Vigée-LeBrun to Claude Monet to Georgia O'Keeffe, will still be in the collection galleries when they re-open; although, they might be in a new place with new neighbors. Not only that, we have a few suprises in store! Works will rotate more frequently, so there will be new reasons to return and see the collection in different ways.

Yes! You can still visit the MFA Shop and enjoy a nibble at Café Clementine.