The Visual Arts Modernization Project added and renovated multiple buildings, combined all four of its galleries into one space, and packed classrooms with the latest in digital art technology.
Flyers are beginning to adorn the brand new bulletin boards and hand-drawn posters are brightening up the new Computer Commons as California State University, Fullerton’s College of the Arts students settle into the freshly renovated – and reimagined – Visual Arts Complex.
The Visual Arts Modernization Project, six years in the making, added two new buildings and significantly renovated two additional buildings in order to meet the needs of CSUF’s growing visual arts department, which has grown from 1,100 students in 1969, when the first complex was built, to 2,600 students today.
“I have seen remarkable changes in the visual arts community,” said Arnold Holland, dean of the College of the Arts. “The curriculum has expanded to include emerging disciplines like game art, animation and immersive media. Technology has also advanced significantly, and our facilities now have state-of-the-art equipment like 3D printers, green screen labs and digital fabrication tools. These advances have enhanced both teaching and learning processes.”
Planning for the project began in 2019, with construction beginning in 2022, and completion just in time for the new semester. The project was funded by a $65 million state grant, with an additional $10 million being raised over the next two years to add additional furnishings and equipment.
One standout donor has been Darryl Curran, founder of the photography program at CSUF and a previous faculty member, who donated $250,000 for the Creative Photography Wing. Two other spaces, the Donna and Ernie Schroeder Seminar Room and the Louise P. Shamblen Drawing & Painting Studio, were named in honor of alumni donors.
Students and the public get their first official look at work in the new Nicholas and Lee Begovich Gallery on the Cal State Fullerton campus. Photos by Lola Olvera, Culture OC
Building Out to Keep Up
Dominic Mumolo, senior director of development for College of the Arts, said keeping up with rapid changes in technology can be a challenge, but the department prioritizes upgrading to any technology that is deemed “paradigm-shifting,” because giving students access to industry standard technology not only supports them in their education but prepares them to be more employable after they graduate.
The complex now boasts more than 85,000 square feet of added and renovated spaces, including 27 updated classrooms and studios and 37 added faculty offices. Buildings A and E were significantly renovated, while Buildings G and H were brand new additions.
Building A houses the Department of Visual Arts offices, as well as graduate studio spaces, a drawing and painting room, and a collaborative workspace.
Building E’s Darryl Curran Creative Photography Wing offers access to two studios, refurbished darkrooms, a large-scale printing room and an updated computer lab. The building also contains a 2D foundations classroom, drawing and painting rooms, upgraded instructional spaces and more faculty offices.
A formidable spiral staircase dominates the foyer of the new Building H. To the right is the Computer Commons, a computer lab currently open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., but planned to soon be available to students 24/7. According to Holland, this space has quickly become immensely popular, as students are excited to have a place to work on projects in between classes.
Beside the Computer Commons is a meeting room decorated with student artwork. Past the digital fabrication lab, and down a hallway lined with instructional spaces, lies the Dean’s Suite. Beyond the staircase looms an expansive atrium that will have student art projected on its walls. Upstairs, students can find a green screen/motion capture room, a room where they can hold film screenings, and additional computer labs, including an animation studio with Cintiq tablets.
Throughout the space, glass walls give passersby a glimpse of ideas being put into creation. Although the stark white buildings have a modernist, industrial feel, splashes of color – dabs of pink on stair steps, bright tile in the gender-inclusive restrooms – serve as cheerful reminders that art is being made here. In fact, Holland said, people have likened its overall effect to a canvas.
The buildings were designed by Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, Inc. (offices throughout the country, including Santa Monica) with landscaping by LandLab (offices in Redondo Beach and San Diego). Drought-resistant plants and slender trees line the wide pathways of the outdoor space that will eventually include patio tables and chairs for students to flock around in between classes.
“There was a deliberate attempt to create common spaces for the students,” Mumolo said. “We’re trying to create an environment where they feel comfortable.”
Building improvements include, top row from left, computer labs, fish bowl classrooms, a grand staircase and bulletin boards; bottom row from left, gender neutral bathrooms, areas for projecting art, and the new home for the Begovich Gallery. Photos by Lola Olvera, Culture OC
A New Home for the Begovich Gallery
Previously located in Building A, the Nicholas and Lee Begovich Gallery now has a new home in Building G, along with the Marilyn and Cline Duff Gallery, Leo Freedman Foundation Studio and M.F.A. Art Gallery, and Stan Mark Ryan Gallery. At the bustling gallery opening on Saturday, Nov. 2, CSUF administrators, students, alumni and community members perused the eclectic selection of works in all the exhibitions.
From the University’s Visual Arts permanent collection, “Vitae: A New Generation” is a multifaceted assortment of diverse voices navigating social justice issues while exploring their own self-discovery. The group exhibition features eight artists, all CSUF Visual Arts alumni.
Juliana Rico, one of the artists, clutched a bouquet of cempasúchil (Mexican marigold flowers) as she chatted with people about her work, “Self Decolonization,” a series of photographs of a performance in which she removes a white mask from her face, challenging both societal and internalized ideas of colonization.
Rico said she is honored to be a part of the collection among other artists “making really important and critical work about things that are the zeitgeist of what's happening right now.” She is also excited by the overall changes to the Visual Arts Complex, having gotten a sneak peek during the summer.
“I graduated with my degree in photography so when I was walking down those hallways and peeking my head into the darkrooms … I was floored to see what it looks like now – major facelift, major reconstruction!” she said. “It’s so exciting and I hope that it’s something that really helps to establish Cal State Fullerton’s arts program and get a lot of young and inspired creatives to come to this program too.”
The Begovich Gallery also includes Chris O'Leary’s “Gravity Well,” which bridges art and science through multimedia video installations and photographic works that explore gravitational waves; Michelle Emami’s “Arcana,” a vibrant, large-scale sculptural installation that celebrates the complexities of cultural identity; and “Past Forward (Redux),” a series of photographs that document the changing architecture and design of CSUF’s Visual Arts Complex.
PHOTO 1: Student curators Marie Andree Chinchilla, left, and Enrique Del Rivero installing "Past Forward." PHOTO 2: Artist Michelle Emami and gallery staff David Brokaw, Marie Andree Chinchilla, and Jennifer Lee installing "Arcana." PHOTO 3: Jennifer Frias, right, director of the Begovich Gallery, shares directions for a new installation with associate preparator Riley Peettitt. Photos courtesy of Cal State Fullerton
According to Jennifer Frias, director of Begovich Gallery, the inaugural exhibitions highlight the contributions of alumni artists, emphasize interdisciplinary collaboration, and introduce “a new blueprint that looks at the progress in how we make, talk and look at art.”
Building G also contains an arts research library, a room for caring for and storing artwork and an additional teaching space.
“When we moved into the space this fall, it exceeded our expectations and our imagination,” she said. “The new gallery space provides us with upgraded amenities and enhanced opportunities that we didn't have in our old spaces.”
One such upgrade was finally having a dedicated collection and print storage space. Previously, the Begovich collection was stored in multiple locations within the complex, but now art can be properly stored and cared for in dedicated spaces, and students can be trained in collections management and digitization, both possible future career options.
Beside the Begovich collection, the Stan Mark Ryan Gallery contains “TransFlux: Augmented Data, Audiovisual Reality,” with digital works by CSUF Graphic and Interactive Design students, while the Marilyn and Cline Duff Gallery and Leo Freedman Foundation Studio and M.F.A. Art Gallery feature “Out of Place…Out of Time,” a reflection on liminal spaces and abandoned structures.
“(These) three new student-dedicated gallery spaces will allow visual arts majors to showcase their work in a first-class venue while obtaining best-practice experience installing, presenting and promoting their exhibitions,” Frias said.
Now positioned as a public-facing art space, the Begovich Gallery hopes to maximize the amount of time student work is being showcased to the public and to draw in visitors attending events at Clayes Performing Arts Center, which lies directly across from the gallery. The gallery is currently open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m Tuesdays-Saturdays, and will be open late on Fridays and Saturdays until 7 p.m. when there are performances in Clayes Performing Arts Center.
NICHOLAS AND LEE BEGOVICH GALLERY
Where: 800 N. State College Blvd, Fullerton, CA 92831, at the corner of State College Boulevard and Arts Drive.
When: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays; open until 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays when there are performances in the Clayes Performing Arts Center
Admission: Free
Parking: Parking is located in the Nutwood Parking Structure and can be accessed through Arts Drive from North State College Boulevard. Daily parking permits are available from yellow permit machines located in the parking structure. $10 daily parking permit. Parking is free on Fridays after 5 p.m. and on weekends.
Information: (657) 278-3471 or fullerton.edu/arts/art/
