facilities
Art and Art History
 

Art History    .    Design  .    Studio Art    .    Visual Art Studies + Art Education

About the Visual Arts Center

Mission

Acting as an emerging contemporary art hub, The Visual Arts Center fosters collaboration and becomes a magnetic environment for exhibition, education and research within the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Texas at Austin.

Facility

The former site of the Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art in the Art Building is undergoing major renovation to house a new contemporary art hub, the Visual Arts Center (VAC) in the Department of Art and Art History at The University of Texas at Austin. The newly renovated space, designed by renowned architects Lake | Flato, will house exhibitions, educational instruction and research within the Department of Art and Art History. The construction is scheduled for completion in spring 2010, and the VAC will open its doors for its premier exhibition in September 2010.

The VAC space is a central component of this remodel. It is prominently placed to serve as the hub of creative, academic and social life for visual art students with exhibitions, lectures, symposia, the Maya Meetings at Texas and much more. In addition, there will finally be a clear, prominent entrance to the art building elevating the overall physical look while ultimately changing the face of the department.

The new graduate student studio spaces will allow students to pursue a rigorous studio practice in the areas of printmaking, design, transmedia and photography. These studio spaces will be adjacent to the gallery and exhibition space, allowing interaction and exchange.

There will also be a new entrance for the art building, a new main lobby and a new administrative suite. All of these facilities will allow easy access to exhibition spaces, administration and faculty offices, classrooms, lecture halls, and studios.

The new home for the Mesoamerica Center will be located adjacent to the studio spaces allowing students and scholars to be able to gather and research the latest developments in the art, writing and history of Mesoamerica, in a setting that encourages discussion and exchange.

About the Architect

Since March 2007, Lake | Flato has been working with the university to create an innovative renovation for the department. Established in 1984, Lake | Flato Architects gained national recognition for architecture that is rooted to its place and successfully merges with the landscape. In collaboration with their clients, they create buildings that are tactile and modern, environmentally responsible and authentic, artful and crafted. Lake | Flato has received critical acclaim including as being selected by The American Institute of Architects as the Firm of the Year in 2004. Four of Lake | Flato projects have been selected as national Top Ten Green Projects by the AIA Committee on the Environment, and they have been recognized with numerous national and state awards, including the AIA's Honor Award in 1992, 1997, 1999 and 2007. Lake | Flato's work has also been featured in national and state publications, and the firm was honored with a Texas Medal of Arts in 2009.

Location

The Visual Arts Center is located in the front of the Art Building on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin.

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View map of the College of Fine Arts, including the Art Building