We thank all the donors and community partners who share our vision of enriching lives through this new art museum and invite you to take a look inside the new TMA.

As we extend giving opportunities to our entire community, we are delighted to announce that future donations will be MATCHED up to $1,000,000 thanks to Community First Credit Union.

Join us in making the vision a reality! Every donation counts, supporting the museum’s development from design to programming.

Special thanks to our lead donors Dr. and Mrs. Monroe Trout for their $5,000,000 donation, and Mr. John Bergstrom and Bergstrom Automotive for their $1,320,000 contribution.

Photo by Danny Damiani, Lawrence University

A partnership announced in August 2023 between TMA and Lawrence, the building will feature more than 100,000 square feet of space over four floors, with the state-of-the-art 30,000 sq ft Trout Museum of Art on the ground floor and innovative academic spaces for Lawrence on the second to fourth floors. Located at the southwest intersection of College Avenue and Drew Street, on the western edge of the Lawrence campus, it has an estimated cost of $38 million and will be built by Boldt Construction. The building will be jointly owned by the Trout Museum of Art and Lawrence, with TMA owning the museum and Lawrence owning the upper three floors, operating separately but with great opportunity for collaboration.

The new property adjoins a vacant lot and office buildings owned by the university with an area owned by the museum purchased by an anonymous donor.

A ceremonial groundbreaking was held on March 7, 2024 for the new building, marking a pivotal moment in a partnership that will provide a new home for the Trout Museum of Art, provide innovative new academic spaces for Lawrence University, and foster exciting opportunities for collaboration.

Leaders from Lawrence, TMA, and the City of Appleton addressed more than 200 people gathered on the site where the four-story building will rise over the next 18 months. Before putting shovels in the dirt, they spoke to the ways this project will bolster the futures of the university, the nonprofit art museum, downtown Appleton, and the greater Fox Valley region.

In recent years, Trout Museum of Art programming has outgrown our current 100-year-old home, with the building also requiring significant investment to the facility. It was our goal to stay within Downtown Appleton, a community we love.

This new premier space for the museum has a planned 10,000 sq ft exhibition space. Large, open galleries will enable flexibility in programming for short and long-term exhibitions that can flow out into the welcome center and hallways, utilizing every surface as a potential location for artwork and community engagement. Merging sustainable and programming considerations, large open windows are thoughtfully worked into the welcome center, café, store, and classrooms to bring about a deeper connection with the larger Fox Cities community.

The 100,000+ square-foot facility will be jointly owned by the Trout Museum of Art and Lawrence University, with TMA owning the 30,000-square-foot ground floor and Lawrence owning the upper floors. The institutions will operate separately with great excitement for future collaborations.

The Trout Museum of Art will operate at its current location at 111 W College Ave until late spring 2025 when we prepare for our move and opening of the new space, slated for Sept 2025. The current building will be sold, and the proceeds used to help fund the cost of the new location.

As we progress toward construction, the museum remains dedicated to engaging the community through our current exhibitions, events, educational programming, and collaborations with local artists. The support and enthusiasm from the community are integral to the success of this landmark project.