"Reigniting the Fire" Capital Expansion Project

FAIN: CHA-292077-24

National Ornamental Metal Museum (Memphis, TN 38106-1547)
Carissa Hussong (Project Director: October 2022 to present)

Renovation and adaptive reuse of Rust Hall, an architecturally significant mid-century modern building in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, as the new seat of the National Ornamental Metal Museum (Metal Museum).

As part of a $35 million capital expansion campaign, the National Ornamental Metal Museum (Metal Museum) in Memphis, Tennessee, requests a NEH Challenge Grant to support the renovation and restoration of Rust Hall. Designed by acclaimed Memphis architect Roy Harrover, Rust Hall is one of the first examples of modern architecture in Memphis and was named the “Building of the Decade” for the 1950s by the American Institute of Architects. The renovation will result in a state-of-the-art museum facility for the preservation, promotion, and advancement of the field of fine metalwork. The Metal Museum’s unique focus and commitment to the metal arts have positioned it as an educational center within the field. More than the preservation and display of artwork, as the only institution of its kind, the Metal Museum contextualizes the roles and uses of metal to create an understanding of the craft and its history, as well as the impact that history has had on contemporary art and design.