Stanford is flexing its creative muscles planning the construction for an “arts gym,” the most recent step in its effort to increase the role and visibility of the arts on campus.
In response to a student desire for drop-in creative and rehearsal space, Stanford is planning to convert a former athletic facility into a multi-functional open-plan space stocked with studios, art storage, a green screen, and a performance space. Designed by the architecture firm Cody Anderson Wasney, it is expected to open in 2016.
Any student with a student ID will be able to go in and use the multi-functional space. Stanford alumni and arts in student life coordinator at the Stanford Arts Institute, Paula Salazar told the Stanford Daily, “Our priority is to help students who might not [be affiliated with an arts department]…at Stanford—art will still be a part of their lives and will continue to enrich their experience.”
The “arts gym” is the most recent step in Stanford’s initiative to expand Stanford’s new arts district, including the $85 million dollar McMurty Building housing the Department of Art and Art History, due to open next year, and the acclaimed Bing Concert Hall. In addition, $30.5 million is going to house Anderson Collection, Stanford’s impressive trove of modern and contemporary art.