NORTH ADAMS, MASS. — The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MoCA) strengthened their collaborative efforts through the Clark’s acquisition of 29,000 square feet of building space at the 13-acre former factory site in North Adams. The area includes a prominent building facing the entrance to the Mass MoCA campus and will include public exhibition space, as well as storage for part of the Clark’s art collections, library and archives.

The longstanding collaboration between the Clark and Mass MoCA began in 1996 with David Byrne’s installation “Desire.” In 1999, the Clark funded “Tree Logic,” a site-specific installation at Mass MoCA by Natalie Jeremijenko. The collaboration continues to offer range of exhibitions conferences and other programming.

The new Clark at Mass MoCA space is an integral part of the Clark’s master plan to further its programming goals and expand its galleries. The master plan includes two new buildings on the Clark’s campus designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando: Stone Hill Center opens June 2008, and an exhibition, visitor and conference center is scheduled to open in 2013. The original museum building and the Manton Research Center are being renovated by Annabelle Selldorf and will also be completed in 2013.

During the next few months, the Clark will finalize a number of program and exhibition plans for the Mass MoCA site ranging from closed storage for objects and archives to publicly accessible storage for works of art to exhibitions. Design and renovation work at the site is scheduled to begin in 2008 with an opening planned for 2011.

For information, 413-458-0471 or www.clarkart.edu.