Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West to Unveil $12M Expansion in March

This March, Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West in Old Town Scottsdale enters a new era with the grand opening of its $12 million expansion, a milestone that transforms the museum into a larger and more dynamic cultural destination. At the heart of the expansion is the Louis Sands IV Center, a striking two-story, 12,000-square-foot addition that brings the museum’s total square footage to 55,000 and elevates its scale and visitor experience.

To celebrate, the museum will host a weeklong series of opening events from March 24-29, 2026, under the theme “Unmistakably West.” The celebration invites the community to experience the North American West as a living, evolving story shaped by artistry, heritage, and shared cultural memory.

“The grand opening of the Louis Sands IV Center marks a transformative new chapter and a defining moment for Scottsdale as ‘The West’s Most Western Town.’ This must-see destination was designed to inspire pride in our community, spark curiosity, and deliver a powerful, immersive cultural experience that connects with our guests,” CEO and Executive Director Todd Bankofier said.

The festivities begin on March 24 with an official unveiling. Later in the week, museum members receive an exclusive preview day on March 27, featuring RSVP-only tours and hosted food and beverage. The public celebration takes place on March 28, when the expanded museum opens with free admission and a day of immersive programming for visitors of all ages.

Outside the museum, guests can step into scenes inspired by the Old West, with reenactors, a replica stagecoach for photos, live Western music, tastings, and hands-on creative activities. Inside, docent-led express tours introduce the new galleries while pop-up talks offer insight into the expansion and its exhibitions.

In the outdoor Sculpture Garden, live music continues alongside a “Spirits of the West” whiskey tasting experience hosted in collaboration with local partners.

Featured artists will demonstrate techniques ranging from metal stamping and stone setting to painting and sculptural design. Visitors are encouraged to explore every activation through a Museum Passport program, with completed passports eligible for a membership giveaway. Free admission continues on March 29, giving guests another opportunity to experience the museum’s newest spaces.

The Louis Sands IV Center opens with four major exhibitions spanning two floors and bringing together Western American and American Indian painting, sculpture, jewelry, and ceramics in a setting designed to highlight the depth and diversity of the region’s artistic traditions. According to Chief Curator Andrew Patrick Nelson, the new center reshapes how the museum presents the story of the West.

“The center allows us to tell the story in a new, more expansive way, placing painting, sculpture, jewelry, and ceramics into conversation across two floors. Together, these exhibitions reflect the richness and continuing vitality of Western and Indigenous art, setting the stage for how our museum will move forward,” Nelson said.

On the main gallery level, three interconnected exhibitions focus on powerful three-dimensional art forms. One explores the enduring legacy of bronze sculpture, tracing more than a century of work from early masters such as Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell to contemporary artists who reinterpret frontier imagery.

Another exhibition examines the evolution of American Indian jewelry, highlighting how artists transform silver, turquoise, and stone into expressions of identity and cultural continuity. A third explores over six centuries of American Indian ceramic traditions, following lineages of Hopi and Southwestern potters whose work blends innovation with deeply rooted practice.

The upper level presents the inaugural public exhibition of masterworks from the Eddie Basha Collection, one of the most significant private collections of Western American and American Indian art. Titled Working Pardners, the exhibition reflects Basha’s commitment to artists and the relationships that sustain communities.

“Working Pardners reflects the depth of Eddie’s partnerships with artists,” said Tammy Fontaine, Associate Curator. “This exhibition gives visitors an opportunity to experience his love for the West, its land, and its people.”

Featuring paintings, sculpture, prints, and carvings by a wide range of acclaimed artists, the exhibition presents the West not as an isolated frontier but as a shared landscape shaped by collaboration, kinship, and cultural exchange.

“The grand opening of the new expansion will not just be an unveiling, but a meaningful cultural experience,” Nelson said. “The new Louis Sands IV Center will expand the way we tell our stories at the museum, and we are delighted to invite the community to be part of this immersive museum experience.”

With its expanded galleries and weeklong opening celebration, the museum positions itself as an even more vital gathering place for art, history, and dialogue in the region. For more behind this Frontdoor, visit westernspirit.org.