In March 2022, the Kansas City Museum announced that it is working with International Architects Atelier and artist Summer Wheat to transform the Beaux-Arts Conservatory on the property into a light-filled sacred space entitled JewelHouse. The museum is in the early stages of design, with JewelHouse slated to open in 2024. To create JewelHouse, the building’s exterior limestone will be restored, and the interior will be renovated. The perimeter windows and the original roof made of copper and glass will be recreated, and the pergola will be restored and redesigned. Summer Wheat will produce artworks of stained glass, metal, and mosaic for the exterior and interior of the building to make a contemplative sanctuary centering the often untold, evolving stories of women and girls—past, present, and future. Visitors will discover the inner jewels (inner light) of their personal stories and the vastness of identity, memory, perspective, and belonging.
2 December 2022
