The Barrick Museum at UNLV is now officially part of the College of Fine Arts, the school announced today.

The news comes after Aurore Giguet, the museum’s program director and biggest proponent for the museum’s focus on art, kicked up the art component considerably and scheduled multiple rotating exhibits, something she began as a way to fill the void created by the Las Vegas Art Museum’s closure in 2009.

Jeff Koep, chair of the College of Fine Arts, says to expect a synergy between Barrick and the college’s Donna Beam Fine Art Gallery.

Additionally, UNLV officials have been in discussions with the Las Vegas Art Museum to bring LVAM's collection to UNLV.

The Barrick museum, designed as a research and exhibit area focusing on the American Southwest and Mesoamerica cultures, was overseen by the Division of Research and Graduate Studies. Recent budget cuts left the museum without its state funding, and staff have been working to find creative ways to raise money needed to keep the doors open, including this month’s We Will Survive fundraising exhibit.