VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – More progress in Valley City as local leaders held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Valley City State University Center for the Arts on June 24th.
The $32 million state-of-the-art facility will include a 350 seat performance hall and a 100 seat recital hall/choral room, a band room, a piano/computer lab and recording and production studio.
VCSU President Alan LaFave said this facility is an important milestone for the university.
Student Senate president Angeline Gannon said this will be an incredible recruiting tool for the university.
Valley City Mayor Dave Carlsrud said this will be a fantastic facility for the university and the community.
The $32 million state appropriation for the building was secured on May 2nd of 2019 when Governor Burgum signed a bonding bill for higher education capital projects.
“Given the situation with COVID-19, sometimes it feels like the world is standing still,” said President Alan LaFave. “We are not standing still at VCSU. We are moving forward; we are moving forward together. This ceremony today is an important milestone at the university, one that will help secure our future and a big step as we create a showcase for the arts for our students, the campus community and Valley City. Thank you to all who played a role in the planning and funding of the Center for the Arts.”
Art facilities in the new building will include a ceramics lab; printmaking, painting and drawing studios; a digital design lab; a digital photography studio; and a wood shop. An art gallery will provide a highly visible, secure space to showcase student and visiting artist exhibitions.
Music facilities will include a 350-seat performance hall, a 100-seat recital hall/choral room, a band room, a piano/computer lab, a recording and production studio, large and small practice rooms, and faculty offices/studios. Acoustic treatments have been designed for all performance, rehearsal and practice spaces, and the larger spaces feature adjustable acoustics and audio/video recording capabilities.
Gathering spaces will be found throughout the building, and a grand lobby will provide a reception area and showcase for the arts at VCSU.
