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Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus Unveils New Arts Center
Published at Oct 22 2007 12:00AM
Category: College/Campus News
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 Now fully transformed into the spectacular Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Arts Center, the newest building on Montgomery College's Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus bears little resemblance to its old form--a warehouse that once released the savory smells from Giant Food's locally famous "Heidi Bakery." But in its new incarnation, the center is truly a work of art, and a place where art students can savor the learning experience.
The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Arts Center, which opened to its first classes for the fall semester, is a three-story, 139,320-square-foot facility that houses under one roof the campus's two arts programs--the Visual Arts Department, and the School of Art and Design, formerly located on Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring. Located just off the intersection of Georgia Avenue and East-West Highway, the center also serves as home to the Montgomery College Arts Institute. And soon, the center will have studio space available for use by community artists and artists-in-residence.
"The Cafritz Arts Center is an amazing facility where over 30 faculty and staff, using the most up-to-date equipment and cutting edge technology, provide a first-rate educational experience for over 900 students in both credit and noncredit continuing education programs," said Dr. Brad Stewart, vice president and provost of the Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus. "I hope everybody who is interested in the visual arts will visit this wonderful new addition to our campus and to downtown Silver Spring."
Stewart says the campus will host a wide variety of community events in the spacious, two-story great hall and gallery space.
The landmark facility is named after Washington area philanthropists Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz, whose foundation donated $3 million in support of the arts at Montgomery College.
Designed by Gaithersburg architects Wiencek + Associates Architects + Planners, the center includes an art gallery, lecture hall with multimedia capabilities, outdoor sculpture studio and spacious studio classrooms for ceramics, crafts/weaving, design, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture. It also includes computer labs, an art library, art supply store and faculty offices.
According to MC Art Professor Joyce Jewell, who teaches in the Visual Arts Department, the general consensus is that the new building rivals the art facilities of any four-year school or graduate school. "Our adjunct art professors say this is the nicest facility they've ever seen-they're blown away."
And now that the Visual Arts Department can accommodate a greater number of students, Jewell says enrollment has soared.
"I have been a professor at the School of Art and Design for over 17 years," said the school's Fine Art Chair Joe Kabriel, referring to the days before the former Maryland College of Art and Design had merged with Montgomery College. "During those years, we wished and prayed for better facilities. We moved into the new building in August, and I'm still pinching myself every day.... coming to work is a real joy. The best part
is seeing the students' and parents' reactions...It's a dream come true for a lot of us," he said.
The final phase of the four-building expansion at the Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus is a new cultural arts center, now well under construction and visible from its corner location at Georgia Avenue and East-West Highway. That facility, scheduled to open in 2009, will house a 500-seat theater for dance, music, films and other entertainment, and a 100-seat theater for smaller performances.
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This article first appeared in the fall issue of MC Today. To see a PDF version of the entire issue, visit http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/news/mctodayarchive/mctodayarchive.html.
If you would to receive a hard copy of MC Today, e-mail your request to tina.kramer@montgomerycollege.edu. |
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Photo Credit: Don Rejonis |
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