Eli Broad inaugurates new Michigan State University art museum

Eli Broad returned to his alma mater Michigan State University over the weekend to inaugurate a new contemporary art museum that bears his name. The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum had a formal dedication on Saturday and opened to the public on Sunday.

The museum on the university’s East Lansing campus was designed by architect Zaha Hadid. Broad gave $28 million to MSU in 2007 for the creation of the museum -- $21 million going toward construction of the facility and $7 million for acquisitions, exhibitions and other functions.

Construction began in March 2010. The museum had been set to open in April, but a delay reportedly arose from a problem with glass panels that did not fit properly. The final estimated cost of the new structure is $45 million.

Broad and his wife, Edythe, attended the weekend’s inaugural ceremonies. The Los Angeles billionaire called the building an “architectural masterpiece,” according to a report from the Lansing State Journal.

A virtual tour of the new structure is available on the museum’s website. The inaugural exhibitions include “In Search of Time,” a show of works by noted contemporary artists, and “Global Groove 1973/2012,” a survey of video art beginning with Nam June Paik’s “Global Groove.”

Broad is also building a contemporary art museum in downtown L.A. that will be larger in scale and scope. The Broad, on Grand Avenue, will have as much as 100,000 square feet of space, and has an estimated cost of $130 million. It is expected to open in 2014.

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