Bowers Museum to Celebrate New North Wing with a Week of Events Culminating in the Grand Opening on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2007, with Two Stunning Exhibitions -- Ansel Adams and Treasures from Shanghai.

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- Bowers Museum will celebrate the new state-of-the-art Dorothy and Donald Kennedy Wing with a week of events culminating in the grand opening on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2007 and two spectacular new exhibitions - "Ansel Adams: Classic Images" and "Treasures from Shanghai: 5000 Years of Chinese Art and Culture."

The series of events begin on Sunday, Feb. 11 at 4 p.m. with a benefit for the inaugural opening of the Norma Kershaw Auditorium and the launching of the Distinguished Lecture Series. Renowned Egyptologist Mark Lehner presents "Discovering the Lost City of the Pyramids," a recount of his adventures in Giza and the discovery of a major part of the city of the pyramid builders that illustrates a critical threshold in history when the first cities appeared on Earth. Admission for the lecture and champagne reception is $100 for members and $125 for the general public.

Next, on Thursday, Feb. 15 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. is the Members Preview Opening, a first glance at the spectacular new addition and two new exhibits. Then, on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. is the Grand Opening Gala of the new Dorothy and Donald Kennedy Wing featuring a reception, silent and live auction, dinner by Patina Catering and dancing and entertainment by JT California Dreamin' Band, all in the new John M. Lee Court. The new exhibits: "Treasures from Shanghai: 5000 Years of Chinese Art and Culture" and "Ansel Adams: Classic Images" will be open as well. Tickets are $1000 per person. For reservation and information call [phone].

On Sunday, Feb. 18, everyone is invited for the day-long festivities from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. that include music, demonstrations, and lectures to celebrate the grand opening and new exhibits. At 12:30 p.m., the deputy director of Shanghai Museum, Chen Kelun, will present an overview of the unique and spectacular history of Chinese art and culture. At 2 p.m., Mary Street Alinder, Ansel Adams' former chief of staff, biographer and co-author, offers insight into aspects of Adams' early years, his sometimes turbulent personal life and his environmental activism and writing.

The Dorothy and Donald Kennedy Wing, also known as the new North Wing, is the Bowers' second major development in 15 years. The new $14.6 million expansion measures 30,000-square-feet and enables the Bowers to better serve its community with historically significant exhibitions and provide enhanced public programming events.

The North Wing, which doubles the Bowers' exhibition space, features the 300-seat state-of-the-art Norma Kershaw Auditorium, two 5,000-square-foot galleries - The East West Bank Gallery and the Anderson-Hsu-Tu Gallery - and the John M. Lee Court, a central atrium designed to host special events for up to 500 guests.

Created by Robert Coffee of Robert R. Coffee Architect and Associates of Newport Beach, Calif., the new wing is a seamless melding of existing Spanish Mission-style architecture and cutting-edge contemporary design that brings invention to tradition. "We wanted to respect the historical significance of the original Bowers Museum building by not duplicating the aesthetics of the past. By embracing the optimism and potential of our contemporary times, a cultural arts museum, like the artifacts within, should reflect the culture and times of the people that create them," says Coffee.

EXHIBITS

"Ansel Adams: Classic Images" (Feb. 18-May 13, 2007) features 75 photographs that Adams personally chose shortly before he died that defined the breadth of his brilliant career. The images represent the range, quality and artistic achievement of his legendary black-and-white images from those of majestic Yosemite National Park to extraordinary portraits, including those of Georgia O'Keeffe and Orville Cox, and dynamic close-up nature images. Adams named it "The Museum Set." It appears through the generosity of The Capital Group Foundation.

"Treasures from Shanghai: 5000 Years of Chinese Art and Culture" (Feb. 18-Aug. 19, 2007) will feature 77 sets of objects from Neolithic time (circa 3000 B.C.) to Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 A.D.). This incredible collection portrays the evolution of Chinese technology, art and culture utilizing the finest examples of bronze vessels, oracle bones, polychrome potteries, sculptures, porcelains, paintings, jade/bamboo carvings and lacquer works. The exhibit is sponsored by John and Mary Tu.

The Charles W. Bowers Memorial Museum first opened its doors in 1936 as a city-run museum devoted primarily to the history of Orange County. In the mid-1980s, the city of Santa Ana closed the museum and totally transformed it with a new vision for the 21stCentury. When it reopened in October of 1992 as Bowers Museum, it was six times larger than the original. It has presented over 50 acclaimed special exhibitions from all over the world and is accredited by the American Association of Museums. With the addition of the Dorothy and Donald Kennedy Wing, the museum and its grounds cover 3.62 acres, house six permanent exhibits, three special exhibits, an auditorium, restaurant, and eight special events venues that have a total capacity of 2000.

PHOTOS ARE AVAILABLE TO MEDIA.