LED Lighting Project

FAIN: PF-50290-12

Minneapolis Institute of Arts (Minneapolis, MN 55404-3506)
Brian Kraft (Project Director: December 2011 to September 2013)

An implementation project to upgrade the current lighting system by replacing halogen with LED bulbs in galleries that exhibit light-sensitive works, including prints and drawings, textiles, African, Asian, and Native American art.

A preventive conservation project, the LED lighting project will upgrade the Minneapolis Institute of Arts' current lighting system. Specifically, the project will replace fifty-watt Halogen lamps with twelve-watt non-UV/IR emitting LED lamps in first and second floor galleries, special exhibition galleries, and study rooms containing light sensitive works of art at-risk for irreversible damage. Both energy efficient and cost-effective, LED lamps will significantly enhance the MIAs ability to safeguard and sustainably preserve its world-renowned encyclopedic art collection for future generations. Furthermore, the optimal color rendering properties of the LED lamps will make it possible for the MIA to present art works under complimentary light conditions for the benefit of current visitors. The project will begin in October 2012, following multiple years of testing including a one-year testing phase of LED lighting in the museum's third floor galleries.