A behind-the-scenes look at how new Memphis Art Museum is taking shape in Downtown

To tour Downtown's new Memphis Art Museum in 2025, a visitor must wear a hard hat and a bright safety vest.

That's because the 2-acre site is a maze of exposed concrete and laminated timber columns, marked by piles of stainless steel and other materials.

The walls are absent or bare. Cranes tower overhead, and wires coil underfoot.

The soundtrack is drills and hammers, in lieu of the string quartets, jazz combos and soul divas who will be here in the future.