ARTLab

At work today Darrin pointed out an article in the Free Press that was talking about the new Fine Arts Building at the U of M called the ARTLab. It's scheduled to open in fall 2011 - I most likely will have just finished school but I'll definitely be there to check it out when it opens! It's a $30 million project and will be where Tache Hall is now. The School of Art has been around 60 years in an old geology building and all of our facilities are probably in the worst shape on campus. That being said, it does have this romantic sort of feel to it - like we're making art with what we have... But this new building sounds amazing - yet another reason why Paul Hess is doing great things for the School of Art! Here are a few snippets from the article in the free press as well as the University Newsroom blog:

Paul Hess, director, School of Art, says: “Modern and forward-looking, the clear glass studio facade of ARTLab offers a window on the creative process. ARTLab will be a state of the art facility for art exhibition and for innovative research and creative production.”

The ARTLab will house studios, a soundstage, workshop space, digital labs, an art storage vault, a lecture theatre and the university's art gallery, Gallery One One One. It will combine traditional painting and print-making studios along with the latest in high-tech art forms.

And, unlike its old home, the new structure -- with its glass facade that will allow people to view budding artists at work, day and night -- should give new visibility to a school that has operated in relative obscurity on campus.

The facility will be Category A Certified, as designated by the Government of Canada, to ensure the long term care of works of art and their proper presentation. The ARTLab will also meet museological environment requirements including temperature and humidity control, security, fire prevention and correct lighting to safely store and display works.

Amazing right? Jealous of all the first years in 2011...

And for kicks here is a photo of the new student council and I standing on the steps of 'the Fitz' (the soon to be old Fine Arts building)

And now for something completely different! Movies I want to check out at cinematheque...