The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum (MSU Broad or BAM) is a nonprofit art museum that displays modern art. It was designed by Zaha Hadid and is located on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. The museum opened on November 10, 2012.
The museum changes its art displays often to show new exhibits. It focuses on artists who are just starting their careers or have been working for a few years. Exhibits include works by contemporary artists, such as those who earned their Master of Fine Arts degree at Michigan State University. The museum also displays selected pieces from its collection. The MSU Broad offers hundreds of programs for people of all ages, and these programs are free to the public. Visitors can see the art in the galleries and attend community events and programs without paying a fee, except for some special exhibitions.
The museum is named after Eli and Edythe Broad, who donated $26 million in June 2007 to help create the MSU Broad. The museum has more than 10,000 items in its collection, including over 7,500 pieces inherited from the Kresge Art Museum, which was Michigan State University’s previous art museum. These items represent art from ancient times to today, from many parts of the world, and in different forms, such as paintings, sculptures, and ancient artifacts. Important pieces include works from Ancient Greece and Rome, pre-Columbian sculptures, Medieval and Renaissance art, Old Master paintings, 19th-century American paintings, 20th-century sculptures by artists like Alexander Calder and Jenny Holzer, and modern works by artists such as Chuck Close and Ann Hamilton. A selection of these items is displayed in the museum’s Center for Object Research and Engagement (The CORE), which opened in November 2023. The museum is now focusing on adding more art from the present time, especially works by artists of color, women, and other groups who have been overlooked in art history.
The MSU Broad Art Museum was used for filming parts of the movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in October 2014.
Architecture
The Broad Art Museum was designed by architect Zaha Hadid. Its iconic design uses steel and concrete, with a smooth and shiny stainless steel and glass exterior. The building’s structure includes steel framing, concrete shear walls, and bearing walls. The floors are made of structural concrete, which is polished in the galleries and finished with wood. The exterior uses a rain-screen system, which includes steel frames covered with folded and pleated stainless steel panels. High-performance glass is used for windows, doors, and skylights. About 70% of the 46,000 square feet (4,300 square meters) of space is used for exhibitions, including areas like the Education Wing and the Benefactor’s Gallery. Public areas, such as hallways and entrances, are made of architectural concrete. Movement between galleries is designed to be smooth and influenced by other visitors. The museum has three levels: lower, ground (main), and second. The highest point is about 38 feet on the west side (Minskoff Gallery) and slopes to about 24 feet on the east side (Education Wing). The layout centers around a floating staircase, with galleries branching out from it. The second level offers views of the campus and downtown East Lansing. The museum is connected to an outdoor sculpture garden near the east entrance and a pedestrian plaza near the west entrance. Other spaces include offices and a gift shop.
The museum’s design focuses on connecting the community. Galleries and public areas are arranged to encourage interaction between the city, its people, museum visitors, and art. The building links the museum to Grand River Avenue and downtown East Lansing through visual connections between galleries, the plaza, and the city. It acts as a bridge between the East Lansing community and the campus, with doors that connect the campus to downtown. The floating staircase matches the connection to Grand River Avenue through a two-story glass window. All openings in the building’s exterior (the pleated stainless steel panels) help create physical and visual links between the museum, visitors, and the surrounding environment.
History
Before the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, art collections were kept in the Kresge Art Museum, which was inside the Kresge Art Center at Michigan State University. The Kresge Art Museum began in the 1930s when the university's art department started showing its official art collection in different places on campus. In 1959, the Kresge Art Center was built, and a space called "the Gallery" was created to store and display art. This space was renamed the Kresge Art Museum in 1984. Susan Bandes was the director from 1986 to 2010.
When the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum opened, the Kresge Art Museum closed permanently. Thousands of art items were stored. Many of these items were not displayed again until the Center for Object Research and Engagement (The CORE) opened in November 2023.
A group called Better Art Museum was formed in 1999 to create a new, larger museum.
On June 1, 2007, Michigan State University announced a $26 million donation from Eli Broad, a university alumnus and businessman, and his wife, Edythe Broad, a philanthropist and art collector. The donation came from The Broad Art Foundation in Los Angeles. This was the largest gift in the university's history and included $18.5 million toward the $30 million cost of a new museum and $7.5 million for art purchases and funding for exhibitions and operations. On June 15, 2007, the MSU Board of Trustees approved building the museum. At first, plans were to replace the Kresge Art Center, but later changed to demolish a former part of the MSU School of Home Economics called the Paolucci Building. This building had been empty since 2001 because its design made it hard for people with disabilities to use. It was built in 1946 and renamed after faculty member Beatrice Paolucci after her death in 1983. The building was demolished in 2008 to make room for the new museum.
The building design was chosen through a competition. The winning architect was Zaha Hadid. The total cost of the project, including fees, was $40–$45 million. Two more gifts from the Broads increased their total contribution to $33 million. Michael Rush was named the founding director in December 2010. Michael Rush died of pancreatic cancer on March 27, 2015. Marc-Olivier Wahler was the director from March 9, 2016, to January 2019. Mónica Ramirez-Montagut served from July 2020 to July 2022. Steven Bridges has been the interim director since July 2022.
After the museum was approved, 10 semifinalist firms were selected from about 30 companies. Five architectural firms were chosen to submit competition proposals. The new building would have at least 26,000 square feet of gallery space for both permanent and temporary exhibitions. The museum would offer educational programs, including lectures by experts, seminars, and activities for families and school groups. The five finalists were:
- Zaha Hadid – London
- Coop Himmelb(l)au – Vienna/Los Angeles
- Morphosis – Santa Monica
- Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, PC – New York
- Randall Stout Architects, Inc. – Los Angeles
On January 15, 2008, the selection committee announced Zaha Hadid had won the competition.
Construction began on March 16, 2010, at a ceremony attended by Eli Broad and Zaha Hadid. The museum's public dedication and opening took place on November 10, 2012, with over 2,000 people in attendance, including Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow. An open house the next day attracted over 3,000 visitors. A total of 6,000 people attended the three-day opening.
Barton Malow Company from Southfield, MI, managed the construction using special building methods for the unique design. The Executive Architect was Integrated Design Solutions from Troy, MI.
The museum received LEED Silver certification for using sustainable construction methods.
The building's outside has curved stainless steel and glass panels designed to create an ever-changing appearance that sparks curiosity without revealing its contents. (Zaha Hadid Architects)
Change in focus
The original plan for the Broad Art Museum was for it to help increase tourism and economic activity in the region. A study published by the Anderson Economic Group before the museum opened predicted it would attract 125,000 to 150,000 visitors each year and add about $5.75 million annually to the local economy.
Attendance reached a high of 98,000 in 2013. In May 2025, former university president Lou Anna Simon admitted that the expected economic benefits "did not happen as expected." According to a report by the Lansing State Journal in May 2025, interim director Stephen Bridges noted that the public is now more interested in how the museum connects with the communities where it is located. The museum's focus will now be on serving the university community rather than reaching a wider audience.