The New Duke Arts Center
The new Duke Arts Center comes as the latest addition in Duke’s self-proclaimed “arts renaissance,” but what’s really in store? Is it just another giant glass building or will it really make a difference in increasing arts accessibility on campus?
If it’s all they’ve said it will be, I think it truly will have an impact on the arts community in plenty of ways. The space is supposed to open to students next semester and give them access to the following resources:
A 200-seat black-box theater for performance and media arts projects,
A 100-seat film theater equipped for both digital and archival film formats,
Rehearsal space for Duke’s Dance program, student dance groups, and the American Dance Festival,
Video production studios for the Arts of the Moving Image program, the Center for Documentary Studies, and other campus groups,
Flexible production studios for collaborative, cross-disciplinary arts projects, including a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) “maker space.”
Painting and drawing studios,
Classrooms for the Dance Program and Arts of the Moving Image,
WXDU radio station, and
Indoor and outdoor lounge spaces with a stage for student performances.
Though its location at the center of the three campuses was likely a practical decision rather than a symbolic one, I love the image of it standing directly across from the Nasher Museum of Art and connecting the different residential areas of Duke. Building the Nasher was Duke’s first push towards arts appreciation, and I’m hoping that this new center will act as a massive push for art creation.
Since Duke began funneling funds into programs such as duARTS and expanding the artist in residency programs, Duke’s arts community has been trying to flourish without the infrastructure to support it. Dance faculty and student groups have been forced to set up shop all around campus, often in hard-to-get-to locations that make it tough for students to find time in their schedules to take on classes and rehearsals. Theatre groups are forced to wrestle amongst each other and the Theatre Department to find locations to rehearse and put on their shows. The Arts Annex (which is not exactly the easiest building to find) has been virtually the only place on campus for visual artists to find the resources they need to make art. This new space will by no means resolve all of these issues, but I think that it will have a big impact on them. Especially if students are given equal freedom to use the space as the arts departments.
This center could be a massive step forward in encouraging student artists to do what they’re best at, and I can’t wait to see it next semester.
Stay updated about duARTS at: https://www.duarts.org
-Rebekah Wellons
