On Monday, April 21, at four o’clock in the afternoon, Ohio University will have a groundbreaking ceremony for the Chaddock + Morrow College of Fine Arts Violet L. Patton Centre for Arts Education.
This event will mark the beginning of construction on the proposed building. This event will commemorate a crucial milestone in the revitalisation of the Chaddock + Morrow College of Fine Arts redevelopment project. It will take place in McCracken Field, which is located behind Patton Hall on the University’s Athens campus.
The public is welcome to attend the groundbreaking, and a celebration will take place thereafter. Parking is provided in the Patton Hall parking lot for anyone who wish to attend the event.
A greeting will be given at the beginning of the event, and then other speakers will take the stage, such as Interim Dean Jody Lamb, Katharine Davidson, who represents Violet Patton, and Erica Ahmed, who is a first-year student in the musical theatre program.
As part of the University’s $99.2 million initiative to improve arts education and community participation, the Patton Centre, which was named in honour of a significant $50 million gift from the late Violet Patton, BSED ’38, LHD ’11, is at the centre of the plan.
The centre will have a rehearsal hall and a proscenium theatre with seating for 350 people. Additionally, it will provide a lobby that is specifically designed to facilitate connections between students, staff, and members of the community.
A student art gallery and exhibition rooms will also be included in the building, which will allow for the display of the work of both artists and students.
This brand-new centre will not only assist the students, teachers, and staff of Ohio State University, but it will also benefit the larger Appalachian Ohio community.
The Patton Centre is a component of a larger program that aims to convert the arts facilities at the University into places that are more innovative, collaborative, and interdisciplinary in nature respectively.
There are also plans to make significant changes to Seigfred Hall, which is the building that houses the School of Art and Design.
The main objective is to establish an Arts + Education Green that will bring together the six schools and four professional arts programs that are part of the College of Fine Arts. This will create an environment that encourages collaboration across disciplines and will enhance the learning experience.
It is anticipated that the construction will be finished by the summer of 2026, and that students will begin occupying the premises in the autumn of 2027.
