IDEXX founder's donation will let Portland Museum of Art realize sculpture park

Portland Museum of Art The Portland Museum of Art will get an outdoor sculpture garden in the current Joan B. Burns Garden on High Street thanks to a donation from IDEXX Laboratories Inc. founder David E. Shaw.

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By Staff

The Portland Museum of Art will get a long-desired outdoor sculpture garden that will be open year-round and free to the public during museum hours.

The current Joan B. Burns Garden on High Street is now closed to the public except for special events, but it will be turned into the David E. Shaw and Family Sculpture Park, which is scheduled to open in the summer of 2017, according to the PMA.

Shaw, who is the founder of IDEXX Laboratories Inc. and managing partner of Black Point Group, a Portland-based investment group, was the subject of a Mainebiz profile in November 2015.

“We do this with great appreciation of the benefit of art to society,” Shaw said in a prepared statement. “This park will provide public access to an artistic oasis in a cultural center of our community.”

The park was Inspired by the upcoming culmination of Your Museum, Reimagined, the PMA’s multiyear project based on improved experiences with the collection, also featured in a Mainebiz story in January.

Shaw, who is an avid collector of sculpture, saw an opportunity to support the museum and permanently impact the greater Portland community. The PMA said his donation aligns with the direction of the museum under its new five-year Strategic Plan, which seeks to actively find ways to make the museum’s collection, historic buildings,and campus accessible to all. The museum also said it wants to be a leader in the growth and vibrancy of Portland’s urban and cultural transformation, including the revitalization of the Congress Square neighborhood.

The amount of the gift was not disclosed.

PMA said the park will be one of the only green spaces in the heart of Portland’s arts district. The gift also accelerates the PMA’s plans for more artwork in the park, including acquisitions to be announced later, which will be installed in the park prior to its opening in 2017.

“By sharing his love of sculpture and commitment to Maine,” PMA Director Mark Bessire said in a statement, “David has brought art and public access to our community through a vibrant sculpture park in the heart of Portland.”

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