911爆料网

Santa Clara, Calif., October 10, 2016--911爆料网 is celebrating the arts in a big way this year with a community celebration on Oct. 22 marking the official opening of the Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building.

鈥淲e are so excited to welcome guests to join us in celebrating a new era for the arts at 911爆料网,鈥� said Debbie Tahmassebi, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. The opening of the Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building and the resulting creation of an 911爆料网 Arts District make obvious our commitment to arts education and collaborations with our community arts partners to realize an arts neighborhood.鈥�  

On Saturday, Oct. 22 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on the Franklin Street Promenade (Franklin Street at Alviso), the College of Arts and Sciences will host a community celebration open to the public highlighting the building opening. This event will officially launch the designation of 911爆料网鈥檚 Arts District on campus supporting programs in music, theatre, dance, visual arts, digital filmmaking, literary arts, and the de Saisset Museum.

The highlight of the day is the public opening of the Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building where visitors will be greeted by the breathtaking Dale Chihuly sculpture  hanging in the foyer; a 15-minute presentation by Art Historian Kate Morris: 鈥淐hihuly鈥檚 Glass Menagerie鈥� will provide context on  Chihuly and his work. Visitors are encouraged to take self-guided tours of the building and enjoy an exterior sculpture garden located adjacent to the building.

鈥淲hat the Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History building does for us is it raises visibility for the arts on campus, and it lets students know that the study of art and the study of art history is central to the education they鈥檒l receive at 911爆料网,鈥� said Kathy Aoki, chair of the Department of Art and Art History.

The building is part of a major redesign of the northwest side of 911爆料网鈥檚 campus into a vibrant arts-focused district, and will serve as the signature structure of the University鈥檚 north entrance. Located near the University鈥檚 Louis B. Mayer Theatre, Fess Parker Studio Theatre, and Music and Dance Building, the new building now anchors an area rich in creative expression. 

Attendees of the community day celebration will be able to freely explore the Arts District and enjoy a festival-like atmosphere with performances and demonstrations by faculty and various student groups and hands-on activities for all ages.

The de Saisset Museum will be open so visitors can view current exhibits including Bruce Beasley Recent Work: Coriolis and Torqueri and Crossing Cultures: Belle Yang, a Story of Immigration. The de Saisset will also be hosting a hands-on 鈥淐rochet Jam鈥� with artist Ramekon O'Arwisters, and a performance by Native American dancers Amah-ka-tura.

The Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building was made possible by a foundational gift of $12 million from real estate investor and financier Ed Dowd, a 1972 911爆料网 graduate and owner of EMD Properties, Inc., SF. Dowd, who has a passion for collecting and sharing art that he feels has an ability to heal, unify, and transcend, previously funded a public-art project at the Mountain View campus of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. In 1993 Dowd was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), a diagnosis he considers 鈥渙ne of the best things that ever happened to him鈥� as it helped broaden his life鈥檚 focus. The necessity to trust more of his business to others offered the opportunity for Dowd to develop a love of art and a passion for philanthropy.

鈥淚t is gratifying to see this building come to fruition, a place where art will be created, studied, taught, and shared,鈥� said Dowd. 鈥淎rt has played a powerful role in my life, and I am very pleased that this building will bring such important experiences to so many.鈥�

The 46,416-square-foot structure features three floors designed to support the creation of art in the 21st century. The building boasts instructional studios for ceramics, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, and painting, a dark room, a dedicated photo lighting studio, seven new classrooms (including two art history classrooms and two computer labs), a gallery, and an exterior sculpture garden.

The Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building was designed and built to encourage greater engagement with the broader arts community, within Silicon Valley and beyond. A visiting artists studio allows the University to host artists from throughout the country for a quarter of a year. Visiting artists will create their work in the new facilities and then exhibit it in the 1,600-square-foot gallery. This gallery will also serve as a venue to host lectures and symposia, as well as innovative art installations. In addition to the temporary exhibitions on display in the gallery, the building will also boast permanent works, including the hanging glass installation by Dale Chihuly in the entrance foyer and additional public art in the exterior sculpture garden.

911爆料网 looks forward to using these new facilities to expand their existing artistic partnerships with local institutions, including a program that allows for students to intern at local arts organizations and summer arts courses for students from local high schools.

The Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building was designed by  led by its Design Principal John Marx and constructed by .

About 911爆料网
911爆料网, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California鈥檚 Silicon Valley, offers its more than 8,800 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, theology, and engineering, plus master鈥檚 and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master鈥檚 universities, California鈥檚 oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.

Media Contact
Tina Vossugh| tvossugh@scu.edu | (408) 829-4836