Newly renovated building to showcase power of the arts

JMU officials are hopeful that a historic building on West Grace Street that once housed a seed store will provide the ideal growing conditions for an interdisciplinary arts center serving both campus and the local community.

The Arts at 131 West Grace Street, part of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, held a grand opening Feb. 2. The newly renovated space is intended as a hub for collaboration, programming and exhibitions, and will provide educational opportunities for CVPA students.

The building’s first floor contains gallery, meeting, event, classroom and storage spaces, along with a gift shop. The upper floor features artWorks Gallery, run by the School of Art, Design and Art History and exhibiting work by undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty; and New Image Gallery, showcasing contemporary visual works by professional artists that are curated by Studio Art faculty.

The building is also the new home of JMU’s Office of Creative Propulsion and the Madison Art Collection, which will be moving from the basement of the Festival Conference and Student Center.

Kathryn Nusa Logan, executive director of the Office of Creative Propulsion, said the Arts at 131 West Grace Street will function as “a site of convergence” in support of her office’s mission to foster interdisciplinary and community-engaged projects in the arts and design. “Until now, we’ve been operating in satellite procedures,” she said, “but now we have a dedicated space for collaboration.”

CVPA Dean Rubén Graciani and interim JMU Provost Dr. Bob Kolvoord thanked the many stakeholders whose vision, hard work and support helped bring the project to life.

“The university’s investment in this space is a powerful statement about the central role of the arts and design at JMU, and their ability to build community, bridge differences and connect us through our shared humanity,” Graciani said. “This building is more than a home for programs and collections; it is a place for students to take risks, for the community to engage fully, and for faculty and staff to collaborate across boundaries of discipline and practice.”

The building will also support community-engagement efforts, such as First Friday events hosted by Arts Council of the Valley and interdisciplinary arts performances and exhibitions that are open to the public. The current exhibition, Artist Revolutions, features student-curated works focusing on civic engagement and the arts.

The renovation took about a year to complete and involved extensive updates, including the reconfiguring of spaces, new HVAC systems and enhanced security measures.

The Madison Art Collection, which features JMU-owned pieces from around the world, will be relocated to the building over time, according to Director Virginia “Ginny” Soenksen. The new location will be more visible and accessible to the public, she says, and allow for thematic exhibitions on the second floor. The MAC’s inaugural exhibition, Weaving Clouds: Textiles of Central Asia, runs through April 10.

Soenksen says the space will provide CVPA students with hands-on experience and training in art handling and collection management. The MAC’s internship system is tiered, offering credit, advanced credit and paid positions.

“JMU has invested a lot of time and energy in this space, and we’re hoping we can pay that back with some really wonderful programming and opportunities for student experiential learning,” she said.