MONA awarded grant from the state for new construction project

KEARNEY, Neb. (KSNB) - Traffic was slightly altered in Kearney Wednesday morning as officials with the Museum of Nebraska Art had a major funding announcement.

Governor Jim Pillen paid Kearney a visit to celebrate thousands of dollars going to the MONA from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. The donation totaled $845,000.

The money is set to go toward the MONA renovations, that will include a community studio and makerspace, an expanded outdoor sculpture garden and interactive gallery.

The museum’s Executive Director Andrew Dunehoo said the footprint of the facility is also getting bigger, which provides them with a special ability.

“Physical space of the museum will kind of expand to allow us to show larger artworks, to show more artwork together, and more importantly, to tell the stories that are behind all those pieces,” Dunehoo said. “Because every work of art in the collection tells a story.”

Dunehoo said it’s great to have the support of the state as they do this project.

“Having that strong support behind the state is one of the reasons that I, as myself, or anyone on my team would want to come to be a part of this, because we know we have that solid foundation of support from the state who believes deeply in the importance of preservation of other arts. It’s fantastic, it’s amazing and it’s pinnacle and important to helping carry this through,” Dunehoo said.

Pillen told Local4 News he’s proud of the work the NDED has done in the state recently.

“Got a great team of people working very hard so that we’re helping make investments for communities across the state,” Pillen said. “We’ve done it in south Omaha, north Omaha. We’ve made them in Lincoln. We made them in almost every county across the state to make sure that we are a part of enriching and enhancing our communities. We work very hard to do that.”

Dunehoo said they hope to be moving artwork back into the newly finished building after the summer, and they could welcome people back inside as soon as after the new year.

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