Beginning on Feb. 9, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside will be remodeling and expanding their fine arts building, a project that will cost approximately $34 million.
The three programs encompassed by UW-Parkside’s Fine Arts program include music, theatre and art. These departments will share the renovated building and each will receive significant upgrades once the building is complete, which is scheduled for fall 2011.
John Desch, campus planner for UW-Parkside said the Parkside community has supported the project “for decades.” Through new state-of-the-art facilities, problems regarding lack of performance space for music and theatre will be alleviated.
“The need became clearer and clearer when Parkside is [offering] programs without sufficient facilities,” Desch said.
Desch added the project’s funding stems from General Fund Supported Borrowing, which includes state borrowing — the majority of the funding — program revenue and donations. Though the project was set for $38 million, $4 million made its way back to the state government as an economic safeguard.
A total of 71,000 square feet will be added to the building, while also remodeling about 92,000 square feet, Desch said. The music portion of the building will be receiving the most amount of renovation.
Desch added a major area of construction will be a 250 seat recital hall for the music department. In addition, the department will be supplemented with multiple music rehearsal spaces, as well as choral and instrumental rooms. Faculty studios and music-related teaching labs will also be fitted in place.
In the art department, new additions include studios for painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, digital arts and two separate art galleries: professional and student.
According to Alan Goldsmith, professor of graphic design at UW-Parkside, the art department will be receiving a new sculpture court, an area for larger work and a computer lab for state-of-the-art recording equipment with an animation studio.
“These are new possibilities we’ve never had before,” Goldsmith said.
Desch also said the theatre department would be getting a full-scale upgrade in the forms of a120-seat black box studio theatre, costume shop, scene shop, design studios and two major rehearsal rooms, which could be converted into venues of their own. The current main stage theatre will only receive minor enhancements, including a carpet change.
Keith Harris, theatre facilities manager, said their usual four-show season could increase to a five-show season now that the stage does not have to be rotated with the music department. In addition, new staging prospects, such as a stage where the seating circles the stage, could be executed with the new building.
“The ramifications of being able to let the space adapt to the type of theatre is very exciting,” Harris said.
According to Bill Blanchard, director of institutional research at UW-Parkside, the previous school year saw 230 enrolled students majoring in the art department, 65 declared music majors and 59 theatre majors.
“Our older students that are leaving are a little jealous that they won’t be able to experience this building,” Goldsmith said. “The building will finally give us a ‘front door’ to the campus.”
