BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) — Indiana University is welcoming back one of its biggest attractions: the Eskenazi Museum of Art.

The museum is getting ready for its grand reopening Thursday after being under construction for 2.5 years.

The museum plans to show off $30 million in renovations and new technology during its Museum Fest, which runs Nov. 7-10.

David Brenneman, the William E. Kelley Director at the Eskenazi Museum of Art, is anxious for visitors to take part in a new experience.

“We’ve tried to make the museum more inviting, more accessible. We’ve redone all of our galleries, we’ve expanded our cafe and we’ve also created these incredible spaces where you can see parts of our collections that you couldn’t see before,” Brenneman said.

Eskenazi Museum of Art has also added a new art conservation center where students and visitors can learn how to preserve art with some of their new technology.

Julie Ribits, their new paintings conservator said she’s looking forward to seeing the Museum’s art finally back on display for all to see.

“I’m really excited to see so many people in the museum again,” Ribits said.

“It’s been really interesting, I’ve only been here about seven months so all I’ve seen is my co-workers faces for the last seven months and so to be able to see visitors come in, students, other faculty members I think that’ll really be great and from what I understand it’s such a change from what the museum used to look like. I’m just excited for everybody else to experience it too,” Ribits said.

Museum officials say the building features 22,000 prints, drawings and photographs within its art collection. It also serves as a dynamic center for education, serving more than 11,000 IU students and nearly 5,000 K-12 students.

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