Quote:Rice to tear down Rice Media Center, replace with remodeled Sewall Hall
Administrative officials are planning to tear down the Rice Media Center and remodel Sewall Hall to accomodate the lost facilities, according to an email sent by Visual and Dramatic Arts Department Chair John Sparagana.

“We are stressing to the administration that holding off on tearing down the Media Center until the Sewall Hall restoration is complete is important to the stability and continuity of our curriculum and programming,” Sparagana said.

Sparagana also said that he “maintains an aspiration for a student creative arts building” at the site of the Media Center. The timeline for removing the Rice Media Center and the future plans for the location are not currently clear.

The Rice Media Center, located across from Rice University Police Department’s office, currently hosts both the Rice Cinema and the campus’ only darkroom — a specialty space used to develop film photos. The Rice Cinema has been active for over half a century, hosting films by notable artists such as Andy Warhol. In addition to hosting photography classes, the Media Center also hosts exhibitions by students, professors and other artists in its main gallery space.

The Media Center removal will follow the recent replacement of the Rice Gallery in Sewall Hall with a visitor welcome center.

http://www.ricethresher.org/article/2019...Z2c3n_1KiY

If I had to guess, eventually that spot becomes more parking.

I've never been impressed with how the university handles VADA and art history. They always seem underfunded and unappreciated. Student art loses support outside of Shepherd and Architecture.

(04-03-2019 08:52 PM)franklyconfused Wrote:  I've never been impressed with how the university handles VADA and art history. They always seem underfunded and unappreciated. Student art loses support outside of Shepherd and Architecture.

We did just open a $30 million, 50,000 sq foot building for the arts next door.

The media center is the 2nd ugliest building on campus behind Lovett college. Won’t really miss it.

Still waiting to see what the new Sid will look like. I believe Lovett is the next one to be updated after that.

From oldest to most recent update:

Lovett- Sid - Wiess/Jones/Brown- Martel - Duncan/McMurtry- WRC/Baker

Not sure where Hanszen falls in there. Was it updated with Wiess?

http://www.ricethresher.org/article/2019...at-hanszen

Hanszen has lots of issues. I think it’s next.

(04-04-2019 08:22 AM)cr11owl Wrote:  

(04-03-2019 08:52 PM)franklyconfused Wrote:  I've never been impressed with how the university handles VADA and art history. They always seem underfunded and unappreciated. Student art loses support outside of Shepherd and Architecture.

We did just open a $30 million, 50,000 sq foot building for the arts next door.

The media center is the 2nd ugliest building on campus behind Lovett college. Won’t really miss it.

Still waiting to see what the new Sid will look like. I believe Lovett is the next one to be updated after that.

From oldest to most recent update:

Lovett- Sid - Wiess/Jones/Brown- Martel - Duncan/McMurtry- WRC/Baker

Not sure where Hanszen falls in there. Was it updated with Wiess?

I met the executive director of the Moody Center in Palo Alto just a few weeks ago. Her presentation was entirely on outside artists and collaboration with non-art departments. There was no discussion of VADA or its students' work. I came away with the impression that Moody was set up to be as distinct from the visual arts undergrad program as possible. The fact that the Moody Center was not designed to be the new location of the VADA faculty is a pretty pointed gesture at that separation.