KEVIN B. KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat UA Museum of Art Assistant Director Diane Hartman feels that their collection warrants a larger forum than their existing space on the arts campus.

The UA Museum of Art hopes to move to the Arizona Historical Society building to overcome the space shortage they say they have suffered through for 20 years.

The museum is currently situated next to the School of Art near North Park Avenue and East Speedway Boulevard.

The space constraint allows the museum to exhibit only 5 percent of its 5,000-piece collection at a time.

"We're packed in here like sardines," said Diane Hartman, the museum's assistant director. "For a small museum we have such a stellar, world-class collection that shouldn't be all packed away."

The AHS plans to move out of its current building, 949 E. Second St., and into the downtown Tucson Rio Nuevo project by 2008.

Bill Ponder, AHS chief administrator, said he is confident the society will move downtown in four years and is aware the museum wishes to take over the space.

"We hope after we leave it gets put to the highest and best use," Ponder said.

Hartman said the AHS offered to sell the building, which has not yet been formally appraised, to the university late last spring.

Hartman said if the university buys the building for the museum, the museum would be responsible for about $15 million to $20 million in renovation costs. The museum plans to raise the money by establishing an operations endowment fund, comprised of private donations.

Hartman said if the museum moves, its building will be given to the neighboring School of Art, "which is also bursting at the seams."

Hartman said the museum's building measures about 23,000 square feet, and the AHS building is 89,000 square feet.

Hartman said space in the AHS building would provide room for the museum to house a museum store, classrooms, an auditorium and a cafe.

In addition to providing the museum with sufficient space, the new location would also be much more accessible to the public, Hartman said.

"People can't find us," Hartman said. "The new space would be so close to campus yet easy for everyone to find."

Museum registrar Richard Schaffer said many high-quality pieces of the museum's permanent collection are difficult to place in exhibits, which a larger exhibiting space would remedy.

"We have a whole slew of Rembrandt prints and a pile of Goya's prints, which I would personally love to see up more often," Schaffer said.

Hartman said there are only two semi-permanent galleries in the current museum.

"We have a very intense changing exhibition schedule," Hartman said. "We're really blessed with a wonderful collection and it's a shame more can't be up at a time."

Hartman said she estimates the museum's move to the AHS building would take about six months.

"Hopefully, much of the moving will not be seen by the public," she said. "The museum space will remain open while we move, with the major pieces staying on exhibit and being the last things to be transferred."

Schaffer shares Hartman's sentiment and says he is excited about museum's pending move.

"We need to get things out of their boxes and share it with the world," Schaffer said.