Opening day is here for a new museum spinoff: The Crow Museum of Asian Art, the acclaimed museum in the Dallas Arts District, is opening a second location at the University of Texas at Dallas in Richardson, with a variety of celebratory events beginning Tuesday, September 24.

The new museum is part of the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Jr. Athenaeum, a 12-acre cultural district on the UT Dallas Campus. The museum's groundbreaking was in May.

Designed by architectural firm, Morphosis, the new facility will serve as the anchor museum for what will be known as the UT Dallas Art Museums. The O’Donnell Athenaeum will also encompass a 680-seat performance hall and music building (Phase II); another museum (Phase III); and a dedicated parking garage — all surrounding a central plaza.

The Crow Museum of Asian Arts opened its first location in 1998 in the Dallas Arts District and will remain open and active with ongoing rotating exhibitions and programming. The museum has established itself as one of the few entities in the U.S. solely dedicated to Asian art and is also the largest Asian art museum in the Southwest.

In 2019, the Crow family gifted the collection to The University of Texas at Dallas in honor of its founders and to ensure its preservation and care in perpetuity.

A ribbon-cutting dedication for Phase I — which includes the new Crow Museum and additional galleries — will take place on September 24.

That event will also feature a groundbreaking ceremony for Phase II — the forthcoming performance hall and music building.

The new museum's inaugural exhibition will highlight significant objects from the Crow Museum’s collection; contemporary installations from global artists; and two galleries: one highlighting the partnership between UT Dallas and the Dallas Museum of Art, and one gallery showcasing the University’s growing collection of donated Latin American folk art.

The first-floor exhibition corridor will display new works from Dallas photographer Carolyn Brown.

The week will culminate with a family-friendly Open House on Saturday, September 28, featuring tours, dance performances, kimono try-ons, food trucks, scavenger hunt, story time. You can RSVP online.