Kent State Museum of Art

Kent, OH

The Kent State University Museum was founded in 1985 and holds one of the world's premier collections of fashion, textiles, and decorative arts, encompassing nearly 30,000 objects from the Byzantine period to the present. The museum is situated within Kent State University’s College of the Arts and shares a building with the Kent State School of Fashion Design and Merchandising, providing critical educational resources through rotating exhibitions, public programs, and research opportunities.

The museum’s historic 1928 building requires strategic infrastructure investments to support collections care and ensure the long-term vitality of the institution. A 2025 FCI Scoping Grant supported a comprehensive energy audit of the building's mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and building systems, allowing the museum to develop a phased capital improvement plan that prioritizes critical infrastructure needs, improves energy efficiency, and strengthens environmental conditions essential to the preservation of its collections.

A 2026 FCI Implementation Grant will support refurbishment of the museum's air-handling unit and installation of a new central humidifier to stabilize building conditions and protect the museum's world-renowned fashion and textile collection. The upgrades are expected to reduce energy use by approximately 25 percent annually.