The University of Montevallo held the groundbreaking for its new multi-million-dollar Center for the Arts on Thursday, April 19 at 4 p.m.
The 36,000-square-foot facility will allow the College of Fine Arts at UM to provide a more comprehensive teaching and learning space giving fine arts programs a location to collaborate more across disciplines.
“This facility is to create a new kind of environment that draws together students and faculty from all of the departments,” said Dr. Steven Peters, dean of the College of Fine Arts. “Our students and professors will have the opportunity for more conversations across disciplines in the arts and encourage more high quality, specific and interdisciplinary activity. This will be a creative engine for discovery and innovation.”
The Center for the Arts will provide opportunities for campus and community use with the following key features:
- Performance venues and hospitality space
- University art gallery
- Theatre Department offices and multipurpose classrooms and studios
- Multi-use digital fabrication lab
- Scene design and wardrobe shops along with versatile storage spaces
“I am thrilled that we, at Davis Architects, have been fortunate to work with the University of Montevallo and their outstanding theatre, music and art faculty and staff to bring to reality this wonderful new facility that they need and deserve,” said Don Cosper, Davis Architects.
The performance venue will include a 350-seat theater with state-of-the-art acoustics and technology for music concerts and theater performances, a 100-seat black box theater and a courtyard suitable for outdoor performances and receptions.
“It’s exciting to be part of a historic project for the University of Montevallo,” said Ken Upchurch, TCU Consulting Services, LLC. “Working with Dr. Stewart on this project to connect the University, the arts, and the Montevallo community has been a true pleasure.”
The additional classrooms and labs will serve as a major asset for the University of Montevallo’s college’s recruitment program.
“This new Center for the Arts will be a state of the art facility able to accommodate growth including up to 150 students in the fine arts programs over the next five years,” said Dr. John W. Stewart III, president of the University of Montevallo. “The cross function of disciplines under one roof will provide students with more marketable skills for their future occupations.”
Not only will the new Center for the Arts serve to promote integrated thinking within the University, it will also act as an artistic hub for the community.
“The facility will immerse students’ experiences in the arts,” said Peters. “The impact on the University of Montevallo, the Shelby County community and our university will be endless.”