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| Turchin Center behind schedule |
Chris
Bohle
Staff Writer |
Josh Brown | Chief Photographer
Josh Brown | Chief Photographer |
Despite a two-month delay in construction,
the staff of the Turchin Center is optimistic about the new building.
Once slated for a January 2003 completion, the university
now plans to move into the building sometime in March.
Despite a two-month delay in construction, the
staff of the Turchin Center is optimistic about the new building.
Once slated for a January 2003 completion, the
university now plans to move into the building sometime in March.
“It was initially a one-year project that
we wanted to finish by the first of the year,” said Kelley Ingram,
project manager. “We’re not too far behind, though.”
Although construction should be finished by March,
the art galleries will not open until May, giving the university adequate
time to move into the facility.
The building will include a main gallery, a mezzanine
gallery, executive offices and a classroom or two, where art management
classes will most likely be taught.
The Turchin Center is located at the corner of King and
College streets.
The project was split up into three separate phases,
each one to be started after the completion of the previous phase. |
Phase 1 consisted of purchasing
the Methodist Church property, and phase 2, which is currently underway,
is the complete renovation of the church.
Phase 3 consists of an additional wing built onto
the facility that will hold three more gallery spaces, a gift shop
and a lecture hall.
“We won’t start on the addition until
we finish the main renovations—we hope to finish the entire project
sometime in 2004,” said Dr. Clyde D. Robbins, director of Design
and Construction.
The cost of the renovation will be approximately
$2.2 million, while the addition will cost $4.15 million. Robbins
said the phase 3 addition is a bond project, so it will be funded
by tax dollars.
“The entire project is pretty much within
the budget—I don’t see us going over it,” said Robbins.
The need for a visual arts outreach building was
first realized nearly 15 years ago, but it took over a decade to finally
get the wheels in motion.
“This idea has been in the works for a while
now,” said Brook Greene, program assistant for the Turchin Center.
The Katherine J. Smith gallery in the lobby of
Farthing Auditorium is where many of the Turchin Center’s works
will come from, in addition to art from several other national and
international-level artists, said Greene.
“[The Smith Gallery] has been around since
the ‘80s and it could use a little more room to expand,”
said Greene.
The Turchin Center is planning to officially open
its doors sometime in May, with its opening show titled “Go Figure.”
“The show is going to feature a group of contemporary
artists who will present several exhibits focusing on the human figure,”
said Greene.
Exact dates and time for the show will be announced
sometime in the spring semester. |
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