DAYTONA BEACH, FL.- The Museum of Arts & Sciences (MOAS) announces the official groundbreaking of the Cici and Hyatt Brown Museum of Art, today, April 15, 2013. The event was attended by invited guests including Volusia County officials, Museum Trustees and staff from BOMAR Construction and architecture firm RLF as well as Museum staff and media.

Following speeches by Museum of Arts & Sciences Executive Director, Andrew Sandall; Cici and Hyatt Brown; and former Daytona Beach Mayor, Glenn Ritchey, the crowd of guests was ushered the short distance from the MOAS main entrance to the site of the new Cici and Hyatt Brown Museum of Art, on the MOAS property along Nova Road, for the official event. Wielding golden shovels and donning hard hats with the MOAS logo, the group officially launched the construction project which has garnered much attention since ground clearing began at the site in January.

The innovative Cici and Hyatt Brown Museum of Art will be the new 26,000 square foot home for the Brown’s extensive collection of more than 2,600 Florida oil and watercolor paintings to be donated to MOAS over the next several years. In addition to a large, permanent gallery including a mezzanine, which will showcase the collections’ signature pieces, the new Museum will include six smaller, changing galleries, ranging from 900 to 2,000 square feet, conference and education rooms, a café with outdoor seating and a gift shop. Conference rooms and meeting and event spaces will be available to the public on a rental basis. The Cici and Hyatt Brown Museum of Art is currently slated to open in 2015.

Hyatt Brown stated, “Cici and I are very pleased to institutionalize our Florida painting collection by gifting to the Museum of Arts & Sciences. The Groundbreaking of this building is the culmination of countless hours of work and planning by the Museum Trustees; Andy Sandall, Museum Executive Director and staff; City and County elected officials and staff plus the professional efforts of our architects, engineers and general contractors. Upon completion and opening, this structure will house a pictorial history of old and new Florida and will be available for the pleasure of all people now and in the future.”

Works from the Brown’s unprecedented collection, which is the largest and most comprehensive collection of Florida art, dating from the 19th century, have been featured in the successful Reflections and Reflections II exhibitions, which had their debuts at MOAS. In the coming months, capsule exhibits will be featured at the Museum of Arts & Sciences to highlight some of the significant works to be on exhibit in the new Museum. A capsule exhibit now open at MOAS, Women Painting Florida, is a preview of what’s to come with the new Cici and Hyatt Brown Museum of Art.

Ormond Beach firm BOMAR Construction serves as the construction manager for the project and RLF, a nationally recognized architecture, engineering and interior design firm located in Orlando, Florida, was awarded the design.