Seattle Art Museum (SAM) will re-open with a 70 per cent increase in gallery space, offering a stellar gathering place for visitors and a site for major installations by international contemporary artists. SAM's third and fourth floors now join the new North Building galleries to the existing South Building galleries and create a worthy setting for the museum's varied collection of art. While planning the new installation, the curators established three principles for using the collection's diversity to its utmost benefit: show the best of SAM's collection; address the cultural context of the works of art; and when possible, create bridges between cultures and time periods. The guide highlights the many different ways in which the museum's permanent collection may now be experienced, with details and insights of selected artworks. The Forum installation leads the way to the spacious Modern and Contemporary galleries. American art from the 18th to 19th centuries has been intentionally sited adjacent to the renowned 19th and 20th century Native American art collection, where collaboration between living artists and native advisors is featured. Samplings of creativity from the past as well as the present are the focus of the Australian Aboriginal and Oceanic Art gallery, the Meso-American and Andean Art, and the Pan-Asian Art galleries. Not to be missed is the Porcelain Room, with 1,000 exquisite works of porcelain, and a recently restored Renaissance room from 17th-century Italy. This publication has been planned to coincide with the museum re-opening and give the visitor a sense of the experience the new installation offers, and to serve as an enticing visual prompt for further explorations.