Arms and Armor Galleries

Arms and armor front gallery rendering

Building a new home for a beloved collection

Work is currently underway on the Worcester Art Museum’s new Arms and Armor Galleries, opening on November 22, 2025. Through innovative design solutions and immersive displays, the new 5,000-square-foot galleries will allow visitors to explore more than 1,000 objects from the Museum’s Higgins Armory Collection, the second largest of its kind in the country. 

Learn more about the Arms and Armor Galleries

Image: Concept design rendering for the forthcoming arms and armor galleries. Courtesy TSKP x IKD.

Project partners:

  • Open Door Arts
  • Clark University
  • College of the Holy Cross
  • The Oakeshott Institute
  • Worcester Public Schools
  • Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)

Funders:

  • George I. Alden Trust
  • Bassick Family Foundation
  • Fred Harris Daniels Foundation
  • Ruth H. and Warren Ellsworth Foundation
  • J. Irving England & Jane L. England Charitable Trust
  • Fletcher Foundation
  • George F. and Sybil H. Fuller Foundation
  • Francis A. & Jacquelyn H. Harrington Foundation
  • Higgins Armory Museum
  • Bradley C. Higgins Foundation
  • John W. & Clara C. Higgins Foundation
  • Hoche-Scofield Foundation
  • Institute of Museum and Library Services
  • Laird R. Landmann and Kathleen E. Kinney
  • The Manton Foundation
  • Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund, a program of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, co-administered by MassDevelopment and the Mass Cultural Council
  • Mildred H. McEvoy Foundation
  • National Endowment for the Humanities
  • Philip and Ellen Phillips
  • Rockwell Foundation
  • Schwartz Charitable Foundation
  • Stoddard Charitable Trust
  • Mary Louise Wilding-White Fund at Greater Worcester Community Foundation
Institute of Museum and Library Services logo
National Endowment for the Humanities logo
Mass Cultural Council logo
MassDevelopment logo

The Worcester Art Museum is profoundly grateful to these funders and donors, and the many others who have supported this project.

View the full list of project staff, consultants, partners, and funders

Construction Manager: Kaplan Construction
Architect: TSKP
Exhibition Design: IKD
Structural Engineer: Caputo & Wick
Mechanical/Plumbing Engineer: Seaman Engineering
Electrical Engineer: Shepherd Engineering
Envelope Engineer: Leavitt Associates
Fire Protection: Technical Solutions Associates
OPM: Conform Lab