Work beginning on Knoxville's new Delaney Museum

A new museum dedicated to an influential artist is on track to open next year in Knoxville. The Beauford Delaney Museum will pay tribute to the world-renowned artist and his family, who were prominent members of the Knoxville community. Delaney was a well-known painter of the Harlem Renaissance and his brother Joseph Delaney was also a noted artist. The Delaney home will be renovated into a museum space that provides gathering spots for artists and visitors, exhibits on Delaney’s work and life in Knoxville, an augmented reality experience bringing visitors into Paris as it was in the time period Delaney lived there, and serve as a revitalization project for the larger community. Organizers hope the museum will be open in early 2024. The home is next door to the Beck Cultural Exchange Center and will be a part of the museum and community center's campus. Beauford Delaney’s older brother Samuel was one of the founding members of the Beck and Joseph Delaney was the first artist to have an exhibit at the Beck.