Global supply chain and weather delay opening of new museum; preparing collection for upcoming move becomes focus

May 4th, 2022

Santa Fe, NM - International supply chain issues and cold weather will delay completion of construction on the New Mexico Museum of Art (NMMOA) Vladem Contemporary. Production disruptions, particularly in the steel and lumber industry, have caused significant delays. Late March snowstorms and cold temperatures caused additional interruptions to the concrete work. As a result, construction will not be completed until late winter. 

NMMOA will use the construction delay to focus on preparing the museum’s noteworthy collection for transportation to the new building when completed. NMMOA Vladem Contemporary was designed with substantial new storage facilities that are currently lacking at the original NMMOA Plaza Building. With state-of-the-art climate control and abundant rolling storage, the new building will allow the museum to increase the acceptance of the donations of major contemporary art pieces, helping to keep these important works in the state. Preparation for the inaugural exhibit and public education programming is also ongoing. 

“General contractor Bradbury Stamm Construction has worked diligently to mitigate the effect of the global bottleneck to complete the building on time. Unfortunately, this has proven impossible,” stated Mark White, NMMOA executive director. “However, this additional time will allow the collection to be relocated to the NMMOA Vladem Contemporary prior to the public opening, a mammoth task the original completion date did not allow.” 

The museum is finalizing change order negotiations with Bradbury Stamm. An opening date for the museum will be released once construction is complete.