Warehouse opens, inspires art

  Administrators, faculty, students and other community members celebrated the opening of the Arts, Culture, and Technology Warehouse Studios near East Campus Thursday evening.

The warehouse was transformed from an old tobacco factory into an art studio. It contains space for a variety of mediums, including sculpture, video, photography and drawing.

 "Music, art and technology are all linked together here," said Cathy Davidson, vice provost of interdisciplinary studies. "The old belief of two separate cultures of arts and science no longer holds." The planning for the nearly 17,000 square-foot, $2.1-million center started about five years ago as professors helped to design the facility meticulously- even discussing the placement of light switches.  Construction began last December.

Patricia Leighten, chair of the department of art and art history welcomed those present to the warehouse and expressed her gratitude to all who contributed to the project. "This will provide a great facility for the teaching of visual arts at Duke, an improved future is obviously going to happen," Leighten said. "It also allows artists in different media to come together."

 Paul Berliner, a music professor, along with two Zimbabwean Mbira musicians, Cosmas Magaya and Beauler Dyoko, performed three songs in celebration of the opening of the warehouse.

 Many of those present were impressed with the improved facilities. "It's magnificent here. This is a completely new world for Duke University," said Joseph Porter, professor in the department of English. Freshman Aileen Liu admired the dramatic change of the building. "From tobacco to art," she noted. Duke professors' works of art in varied mediums were also on display throughout the building. "I came here to see my professor's artwork," junior Liang Shen said. "It's good to know that the professors are artists outside of teaching us." While the Nasher Museum of Art allows existing art to be displayed at Duke, the warehouse inspires the actual

 Inspiration is aroused every time someone enters the warehouse; it pushes the arts at Duke to move forward, he added. The warehouse is a great improvement on the old art facility, which was an office building split up and used as an art studio, said Merrill Shatzman, associate professor of the practice in the art and art history department. "A lot of students come to Duke with a great artistic background, now we can foster it even more," she said. creation of art, President Richard Brodhead said in an opening speech. "It took a lot of vision, imagination and dedication," he said of the reconstruction of the warehouse.

 After viewing a video made by professors in the music and art and art history departments, Provost Peter Lange said he was inspired to improve the University's boardroom in the Allen Building. "Let's make the boardroom more creative," Lange said. "We can have [the] video playing while no meetings are going on; make it a feature of the boardroom."