The Portland Museum of Art is slated to open its outdoor pavilion at 142 Free St. as a temporary space where the museum’s new wing will eventually be built. The opening on Oct. 2 is timed to coincide with the city’s First Friday Art Walk that evening; the pavilion will officially open at 10 a.m.

The space is being called the AMP outdoor pavilion, for PMA spelled backwards. The pavilion will be open as long as the weather allows.

Marcie Parker Griswold, head of communications and audience engagement at the PMA, said the pavilion will have seating and free Wi-Fi. The public is invited to spend time there during regular museum hours. “This is really an opportunity for us to kind of bring the museum a little bit outside,” she said.

One of the main draws is a mural by a local artist.

Artist Jenna Pirello working on the mural that will be part of the AMP outdoor pavilion at the Portland Museum of Art. (Courtesy of Suseau)

“Painted in acrylic on wood board, Jenna Pirello’s mural draws inspiration from the PMA’s architecture and the changing landscape of Congress Square,” Sayantan Mukhopadhyay, associate curator of modern and contemporary art at the PMA, said in an emailed statement.

“Its cascading archways echo the museum’s existing buildings while opening portals to its future, capturing a sense of movement and possibility as the PMA campus continues to evolve and expand.”

The museum plans to eventually host events in the pavilion, including films, installations, workshops, pop-up performances and other gatherings. “It will be a preview of what’s to come,” said Parker Griswold. The structure is meant to be a testing ground for similar events that could take place inside the new wing.

The 4,200-square-foot pavilion structure was designed by Lever Architecture, based in Portland, Oregon, which is also designing PMA’s upcoming expansion. The firm partnered with Maine-based firm Woodhull and Whole Trees to create the pavilion.

Activities in the pavilion will feature collaborations with local businesses and nonprofits including Creative Portland, the city of Portland, the Hearts of Pine soccer club, Friends of Congress Square Park, State Theatre, Flat Iron Coffee and Allagash Brewing.

The pavilion is slated to eventually be relocated and repurposed once construction starts on the museum’s new wing. A timeline for construction has not been set.