The Long Beach Museum of Art announced Wednesday that the Art Exchange, also known as ARTX, has merged with the Long Beach Museum of Art Foundation earlier this month, and will now be known as LBMAx.

ARTX, a nonprofit organization, has run the space in Downtown Long Beach for years, which will now be consolidated under the Long Beach Museum of Art foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, according to the announcement. The merger was effective as of June 4.

This includes the four buildings that make up the community arts campus at 356 E. 3rd St.

“The merger was approved by the California Attorney General and filed with the Secretary of State on June 4, 2018,” the release stated. “This was superseded by the close of the ARTX campus property sale from Ratkovich Properties to the Art Exchange on May 21, 2018.”

The merger aims to establish a “highly creative organization whose mutually held mission is to provide a world class art museum for the residents of Long Beach, exceptional arts education and programming to enrich the city’s diverse communities, working art studios in the heart of the East Village Art District and stunning gallery exhibition space where artists can display and sell their art,” according to the press release.

ARTX to Celebrate Grand Opening Saturday of Newly Renovated Space

The museum also announced that the newly-dubbed LBMAx campus will receive a complete upgrade of its exterior thanks to a generous gift from a private donor. The ongoing revitalization project also includes a remodel of the second-floor annex and the second floor of the adjacent two-story building.

The annex will include administrative, education and curatorial offices, a reference library and meeting space, according to the release.

Ron Nelson, the executive director of the Long Beach Museum of Art, will lead as executive director of LBMAx. Four ARTX board members, Tom Corcoran, Jay Hong, Steve Pakis and Dawn Radue, were also elected to the Long Beach Museum of Art Board of Trustees, while Barbara Wilde serves as president of the Long Beach Museum of Art Foundation Board of Trustees.

LBMAx also announced Praxis, a new exhibition, will open July 14.

More information will be added as it becomes available.