Art program to expand with downtown Cressman Center
February 15th, 2006
A financial commitment by Elizabeth Cressman and husband Frederick will make possible new glass and sculpture studios for U of L students.
University of Louisville art students soon will work in a new downtown center where the university will house its glass and sculpture programs, thanks to a $1 million commitment by retired physicians and art collectors Elizabeth and Frederick Cressman to launch the center.
The Cressman Center for Visual Arts is expected to open in fall 2006 at First and Main streets, in the first-floor space leased from Louisville Metro in the city’s PARC (Parking Authority of River City) structure. The Louisville couple’s donation and center plans were announced Feb. 15 at a downtown news conference.
“We are excited about expanding our commitment to downtown Louisville and enabling our students not only to create in a vibrant, energetic studio setting but also to educate the public about art,” U of L President James Ramsey said.
The 12,000-square-foot center will feature a creative laboratory approach to three-dimensional art in glass (hotshop and coldworking), wood and metal and will offer exhibition galleries and a seminar room. Street-level windows will allow the public to watch artists work.
“U of L continues to grow its presence in downtown with what will be our newest arts venue,” Mayor Jerry Abramson said. “This space was built with public use in mind, and now visitors, downtown workers and arts fans will be able to see art in the making.”
U of L added glass to its fine arts curriculum in fall 2003 and hired artist Che Rhodes as its first glass professor last year. The fine arts department also will invite visiting artists to work in glass each year through a $500,000 commitment from the Sutherland Foundation to endow a Sutherland chair in glass arts, which will be matched by the state Research Challenge Trust Fund (“Bucks for Brains”); Laura Lee Brown, Steve Wilson and family established the Sutherland Foundation.
