News

Arts building holds grand opening

New facility consolidates department into 2 locations, provides more modern studios

The University of Wisconsin Art Department and School of Education’s Art Lofts facility will celebrate its grand opening beginning today with a series of events to highlight the building’s purpose and presence on campus.

While the Art Lofts have been open to students, faculty and staff all semester, School of Education spokesperson Kerry Hill said special events hosted May 5 through May 9 mark the first time the public has been invited inside.

He said the building is important to UW because it represents the consolidation of the Art Department into two spaces on campus.

“These are places that really weren’t designed for art instruction and art studios, so to have all these places scattered around campus was really not desirable,” Hill said. “The Lofts was designed to bring all of these into one place and to provide those artists with modern studios, well-lit studios, (a) modern instruction campus and really to be designed for art.”

Chicano studies professor Jim Escalante, who was involved in planning and construction of the facility, said the space is a big improvement over previous buildings that housed different parts of the department.

“Although it’s a remodel of a warehouse, it really is a significant remodel, and it’s provided studios and classrooms that are really much better built for the kinds of work that we do. There’s better space, better ventilation, better lighting,” Escalante said.

Escalante said one of the most notable parts of the building is the space it includes for the display of artwork, which was previously completely contained to the 7th floor of the Humanities building.

He said the prominent space allotted in the Lofts building will also make work more accessible to the public.

The grand opening events will open with presentations by alumnus and glass artist Marvin Lipofsky today at 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m.

The grand opening ceremony will begin Wednesday at 5 p.m., when interim Provost Julie Underwood, Chancellor Biddy Martin, Interim Dean Dan Gamoran and Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton will speak at a ribbon cutting ceremony.

The Art Lofts is located at 111 N. Frances St. and open houses will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Looking forward, Hill said plans are still in the works to construct as second building adjacent to the Art Lofts that will house the rest of the art programs on campus.

“Before the Humanities building can be demolished, all the areas of the department using it now need to find a new home,” Hill said. “The idea is to have the building up and them moved out before that space is taken away.”

According to Escalante, the Art Lofts is located at a place especially suited to allowing expansion once budgets allow.

“To build a facility adjacent to this building where all of the Art Department would be located within as one larger footprint — it does kind of give us a presence on campus,” Escalante said.