Beauford Delaney Museum on track to open next year in Knoxville

The innovative Delaney Museum at the Beck Cultural Exchange Center is on track to opens its doors to the world early next year to pay tribute to world-renowned artist Beauford Delaney and his family.

The museum is designed to be an inspirational gathering place for artists and visitors from across the globe. Construction includes a complete overhaul to the ancestral Delaney home on Dandridge Avenue in Knoxville's Morningside neighborhood.

The home is in disrepair and will require a substantial amount of work, including a complete restoration of the exterior. This will be a difficult phase of the project because it will require the removal of lead-based paint. The property will need new electrical wiring, new plumbing and more.

Community members broke ground on the Delaney Museum in August 2021. Since then, Knoxville-based architect firm BarberMcMurry has been working on a design together with 1220 Exhibits, an exhibit contractor. Once the design is complete, local contractor Mark Deathridge with East Tennessee Mechanical Contractors will start construction.

Deathridge says having the architect work directly with an exhibit contractor helped significantly in the planning process. Together, they could gather all the information they need upfront instead of having to change orders, or add work later.

"We wanted to make sure we got off on the right foot this time on this particular project," he said. "Also, we have to look at cost and that's another way of of trying to control cost, when you do all the work at one time, and you got all the information at one time, instead of coming back with change orders later."

Hiring an exhibit contractor right away was essential for temperature and humidity control for the historic pieces, as well as designing exhibit lighting plus mechanical and electrical work.

Design plans are expected to be completed by March. Organizers hope to begin construction right away, with a goal to complete the project in early 2024.

"I don't have a crystal ball, so I haven't seen it yet," Deathridge said. "But once I see it the preliminary drawings that we review, we think it can be done in that period of time."

Supply chain issues and inflation have made it difficult to determine the total cost of the project.

So far, over $1 million has been raised, but the Rev. Renee Kesler, executive director of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center, said organizers are continuing to raise money to offset the rise in costs and to ensure the museum won't acquire any debt.

"We really want to open our doors and say that this is a museum that is truly debt free," Kesler said.

Historical ties to the community

The Beck Cultural Exchange center purchased the house next door on Dandridge Avenue in 2015 as part of a community revitalization project. After they bought the property, they discovered it was the only remaining ancestral home of the Delaney family.

Samuel Delaney, the elder brother and patriarch who purchased the home in 1960, was a founding member of the Beck and the very first artist featured when Beck opened in 1975 was his brother, Joseph Delaney.

"We knew we were never going to tear it down," Kesler said. "We knew that we were going to preserve and conserve it. We just didn't know what it would be and what it would produce."

Born in 1901, Beauford Delaney first learned to draw at his church. Many of his earliest drawings were copies of pictures from Sunday school cards and the family Bible.

His mother was a talented seamstress who encouraged creativity, and much of Beauford and Joseph's talents have been accredited to her inspiration. By age 14, Beauford had completed his first commissioned painting and was gaining recognition for his accomplishments.

Delaney was a teen when his talent impressed Lloyd Branson, Knoxville's renowned artist. Branson gave Delaney art lessons and later helped pay for the then-22-year-old to move to Boston to study art.

While he'd later visit home, Delaney would never live in Knoxville again. He moved to New York where he became part of the artistic Harlem Renaissance. In 1953 he went to Paris where he lived until his death.

'The wow factor'

The first floor of the museum is planned to be a tribute to the Delaney family and the entire space will be dedicated to telling the story their time in Knoxville.

The second floor of the museum will be dedicated to the artwork and legacy of Beauford Delaney. It will have an artist in residence studio apartment to bring in artists from all over the country to work and study.

"Right now, we're looking at bringing in artists three times a year to stay in that resident apartment and share with our community," Kesler said.

Also on display at the new Delaney museum will be an augmented virtual reality tour that will transport visitors into the Beauford Delaney exhibit on display in Paris. The tour will allow viewers to learn about his life and art in Paris, and see artifacts showcased on the other side of the world.

Other exhibits include:

• Original Beauford Delaney prints

• Delaney family artifacts from during the period when they were in Knoxville

• Historical narratives contained on the walls and in the exhibits where people can read about their lives

An outdoor space is planned for the museum, too, with a goal to have one continuous campus where both the Beck Cultural Exchange Center and Delaney Museum are connected so visitors can easily go back and forth.

Kesler said planners envision having monuments and historical markers in the lawn, so visitors can sit outside, enjoy the landscaping and see the statues that speak to the history of Beauford Delaney and his family.

"I want the wow factor," Kesler said. "So when you pull up in front of it, you just want to walk on the grounds."

'What a beloved community looks like'

All community members who have been involved in the creation of the Delaney Museum project are local and passionate about the work. Now that the architects are just about finished, they're getting ready to turn it over to the contractor and getting excited to see this vision come to reality.

“Everybody wants to see this happen. And it's going to happen,” Kesler said. "So we're excited now, because now we're ready to see the hammers and nails get introduced to each other."

Kesler says there's a long list of people who are dedicated to making the project a reality.

"We are literally seeing something that is as special as this house is in its current state now, and we're going to watch it come back to the beauty of its yesterday and pay tribute to one of the world's greatest artists," Kesler said. "To me, that's what a community project looks like. It's bringing people from all backgrounds, all colors, all races, all interest, and all organizations to say, this is a part of all of our history."

"It's one of those things that people from all over the world are going to come see," Kesler said. "And what they're really coming to see is what it looks like, for a community to care about his heritage and its history. And to do it together."

Angela Gosnell is a multimedia journalist focused on audio and visual storytelling projects that provide clarity for complex situations. Connect with Angela by emailing her at Angela.gosnell@knoxnews.com. Follow her on Twitter @AngelaMGosnell.

Make our community, our society and our republic stronger by supporting robust local journalism. Subscribe online at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Beauford Delaney Museum on track to open in Knoxville in 2024