[2] The facility was designed by the Boston firm, Ann Beha Architects, and now occupies the first floor of Norumbega Hall, a historic downtown building that formerly housed a department store.

The Bangor facility, while allowing the museum to showcase a greater proportion of its collection, also enhances the arts scene of the region's largest city.

Additionally, the museum's permanent collection includes work by artists associated with Maine such as Berenice Abbott, Marsden Hartley, Winslow Homer, John Marin, Carl Sprinchorn, and Andrew Wyeth.

In addition to making the University's collection more accessible to the public, the downtown location enables the museum to expand its educational programs beyond the confines of the Orono campus.

[3] The museum hosts an annual calendar of exhibitions featuring contemporary artists and ideas.