Chancellor Kristin Sobolik bangs a gong to signify the opening of UMSL’s new Creative Arts Building on Tuesday night during an open house in the newly renovated space. She was joined on stage by (from left) Provost Steven J. Berberich, Sen. Brian Williams, Associate Professor Pamela Stuerke and Professor Joanna Mendoza.

The building sits just north of the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, though it predates the center by more than a quarter century.

It has served a few purposes since opening in 1975 to house central support services. Less than a decade ago, it was home to the Office of Human Resources.

Senior computer science and music major Andy Mai talks to guests in one of newly renovated teaching spaces in the Creative Arts Building during an open house on Tuesday evening.

But the more than 100 guests who strolled through the front doors Tuesday evening would have been unable to recognize it from those earlier incarnations.

“Tonight, we are proud to introduce it as the Creative Arts Building at the University of Missouri–St. Louis,” Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Steven J. Berberich said as he welcomed attendees during an open house to mark the building’s reopening.

Berberich was speaking from the stage inside the newly created Arianna String Quartet Recital Hall, one of many beautifully renovated spaces that will now serve the Departments of Music and Art and Design. The $10 million project, designed by architect Eric Hoffman and the team at patterhn ives, llc., also has a new graphic design lab, expanded practice facilities and upgraded office space for faculty.

Attendees had a chance to tour all of the spaces, meet with faculty members and listen to UMSL students practicing in their new digs.

“UMSL’s creative arts students and faculty have the tools to unbridle their creativity and reach their highest potential,” Berberich said.

Guests look at some of the prints and sculptures on display in the Department of Art and Design’s new lab space in the Creative Arts Building

Rather than a ribbon-cutting, Chancellor Kristin Sobolik banged a gong during a brief program to ceremonially mark the opening of the new space. Its sound rang throughout the recital hall as audience members applauded.

Joining Sobolik on stage was Senator Brian Williams, a leading advocate for UMSL in the Missouri Legislature as it worked to secure state-allocated funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to support this and other Transform UMSL projects. In all, the state of Missouri directed $80 million over three years to help support the university’s $110 million campus transformation.

“UMSL has also doubled down on its commitment to educate the professional workforce of the future by investing this money wisely,” Williams said. “Buildings like what we’re celebrating today will serve students by providing quality academic environments that inspire learning, creativity and innovation while bringing their renewed energy to campus.

“I don’t know about you all, but this is a really big deal when I reflect on the possibilities for our region and the opportunity to have an institution like this set precedent for why we collaborate, why we call this place home, and why we’re setting the standard for the future of not only our workforce but for students to become some of the top competitors in the world.”

Guests listen to a drum rehearsal by UMSL students and Associate Teaching Professor Matt Henry (at right) in the new percussion room in the Creative Arts Building.

Philanthropic support also played a critical role in bringing the Creative Arts Building to fruition. The facility has 25,735 square feet of renovated space that includes 4,000 sheets of drywall; upgraded mechanical, plumbing, telecommunications and fire protection systems; and more than 3,300 linear feet of lined duct work, a critical feature that contributes to the building’s superior sound isolation.

Sobolik expressed gratitude for the contributions of donors in attendance such as Richard Kluesner and Pamela Stuerke, the latter an associate professor of accounting in the Ed G. Smith College of Business and member of the clergy in the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri whose gift inspired a matching challenge to support the naming of the recital hall in honor of the Arianna String Quartet.

“This space, and indeed this entire building, stands as a testament to what we can accomplish together when vision, collaboration and generosity intersect,” Sobolik said.

Members of the music and art and design departments are excited to use their new home.

Members of the Arianna String Quartet – (from left) violinists John McGrosso and Corinne Stillwell, cellist Kurt Baldwin and viola player Joanna Mendoza – performs Franz Schubert’s “Quartettsatz” in the recital hall named in the group’s honor.

“This is the first semester in the history of the UMSL music department that we have shared one space,” said Joanna Mendoza, a professor of viola and the department’s chair. “For years, band and percussion were separated across campus from strings, voice and our classrooms. Now, we hear and see each other teach and rehearse. We visit in the hallways. Students walk to classes and rehearsals together and study and take breaks together. We have spaces to gather that we’ve never had before. We are all still in shock after so many years of dreaming and planning, that here we are, and it’s beautiful. We can’t believe it.

“You can see how the light, the openness and the elegance of this new home elevates the experience for all of us in the faculty, the staff and students.”

Mendoza and the other members of the Arianna String Quartet – cellist Kurt Baldwin and violinists John McGrosso and Corinne Stillwell – broke in the recital hall with a stirring performance of Franz Schubert’s “Quartettsatz” during Tuesday evening’s program.

Guests listen in the seats of the Arianna String Quartet Recital Hall as the group performs during Tuesday’s opening.

Faculty members from the Department of Art and Design are excited to begin teaching in the Creative Arts Building during the spring semester.

“The architects did a beautiful job, and it’s going to be really exciting to have that kind of energy that we’ll create with music and art and design,” said Associate Teaching Professor Michael Behle, the department’s chair. “That’s going to inspire our students in the visual arts. It’s going to be really exciting and rich, and our new lab is going to be awesome for our new emphasis area, which is game and sequential art. That’s going to be largely housed in that new lab, and there’s a lot of excitement for that new direction.”

The university is preparing to unveil other new spaces in the coming months with the openings of the newly renovated UMSL Innovation Center and the Thomas Jefferson and St. Louis Mercantile Libraries set for November and the Richter Family Welcome and Alumni Center on track to be completed early in the spring semester.

“We’re at the fun time to be at the university,” Sobolik said. “We get to celebrate and see the reality of our earlier vision come to fruition.”