F r o n t   L i n e ISO Space by Victoria Nelson Wow! Pinchas Zukerman is coming to U.Va.! And I can go see him with ART$!!! Ah, the rapture of first-year naivete. What disappointment I felt when I was informed that the Tuesday Evening Concert Series tickets were sold out for the next two years. Perhaps if Old Cabell Hall seated 8,000 rather than 800 I would've been able to attend that concert, but, sadly, there is a great lack of space for audiences in that lovely auditorium. In fact, there is a great lack of space for the performers in Old Cabell, for the music department in general, and for the fine and performing arts at U.Va. as a whole. The music, art, and drama departments are all afflicted by infrastructural woes. What exactly are these woes, how can they best be alleviated, and what is currently being considered to address them? The music department has made some exciting expansions in recent years. The Virginia Center for Computer Music (VCCM), for example, is upgrading its facilities, but needs more space for the ever-expanding list of interested students. Recent faculty hires include a technical director for the VCCM, an opera director, two ethnomusicologists, and two performance faculty. There is an increased emphasis on ethnomusicology for undergraduates, more courses on creating music and learning how to be a music critic, a new African Drumming and Dance Ensemble, and an opera workshop. While new courses are being developed, there is less and less space in which to teach them. With these expansions, however, comes the need for more classrooms, offices, and practice space. The music department is in sore need of a new stage, as the current stage cannot accomodate the larger ensembles required for 19th and 20th century symphonic works or even a large choir. Nor is there an orchestra pit to allow for an opera or oratorio. There are no changing rooms, no wings, no backstage, and there is very limited seating. Furthermore, there is no recital hall to fit in performances for the some 300 students taking private lessons. The atrocities of the studio art facilities are well known. Perhaps less widely advertised are the spatial constraints imposed on the Bayly Art Museum. At any one time, less than five percent of the collections of the Bayly Art Museum are on display. There are only 8,000 square feet that are public, whereas ideally there would be about 70,000 square feet. More room would give opportunity for showcasing a greater percentage of the collections but would also allow for installation of larger (especially modern) paintings and sculptures. Furthermore, the climate control in the present building is not adequate. To protect the collection better and even to be accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Bayly would need greater control over humidity and temperature. The Bayly Museum does an excellent job with what it has, though, and, because of the lack of space, usually has at least three temporary shows a year, some of it on loan. It has a newly refurbished Iron Gate Study Gallery, a new Asian Art Gallery, and some interesting educational programs. The "Writer's Eye" competition is now in its twelfth year and is designed to increase visual literacy and writing skills in its participants, which include members of the community as well as university students. The Bayly Student Docents minister to the community, giving tours to elementary-age children and senior citizens. Incidentally, the museum also has a very interesting web site with virtual tours of the museum and its various exhibits. The Culbreth Theatre was built in 1973. It is the newest of all the arts facilities, yet the drama department is outgrowing it rapidly. There is, of course, the need for offices, classrooms, and more small performance space. However, there is another need being created along with the recently established Media Studies program. This program will be supplemented by the now well-established Virginia Film Festival, as well as the Virginia Film Society, the Salmagundi Film Festival, the "Storming the Media" filmmaking workshop, and a new student group called OffScreen. There are plans for the Clemons Media Center which will improve filmmaking, digital manipulation, and would mean the installation of a TV production studio. But with the new program will come new faculty and courses and the need for another auditorium. The absence of space has long been lamented by faculty and was recently recognized and focused upon by the administration. The building of new facilities for our expanding arts programs was a main talking point of President Casteen's University Address last spring. A team of architects has been hired to draw up blueprints for an "arts village" or Arts Precinct in the Carr's Hill/Rugby Road area. These designs have not yet been made public, largely because the funding for it has not yet been raised. There is a great deal of speculation, however, as to what could be accomplished with such a facility. Collaboration between the various departments and programs is the first thing that springs to mind. Wouldn't it be nice if the drama and music departments could perform an opera together? If studio artists could take part in designing and implementing sets for theatre productions? If the jazz ensemble played at the openings of new exhibitions at the Bayly? Another academic benefit to this new space would be extra seminar rooms and lecture spaces for further integration of the arts into other areas of the schools, so that a history class could listen to an example of period music or an engineering class could see the visual conception of a certain type of design. The next big consideration is how this Arts Precinct could increase community involvement with U.Va. Accessible concerts and exhibitions might give Charlottesvillians a reason to come see the university and appreciate some of the benefits of hosting it. There is an absolute dearth of parking and a new garage could be very tempting -- especially when it is right next to a performance space that draws talented musicians, artists, actors, and directors. It's much easier to lure guest artists when there is adequate space to accomodate their needs, be it a studio, classroom, or stage. Finally, with the recent administrative emphasis on alternatives to binge drinking, there is the idea that the Precinct could become a center for student life. Fathom drinking Greenberry's coffee amidst your fellow students' photography and hearing strains of the Symphony rehearsing while you study or converse. Or imagine an evening party with peers and professors replete with refreshments and entertainment in the expanded galleries of the Bayly. Or consider a plenitude of interesting art and indie films in a couple of different theatres, rather than just mainstream blockbusters in Newcomb. They're all very attractive ideas.

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