UW-Parkside News: Read all about Rita (& see the videos)

Read all about Rita (& see the videos)

Editor's note: Both the Kenosha News and the Journal Times carried major articles on the new Rita Tallent Picken Regional Center for Arts and Humanities in today's (Thursday, Jan. 19) editions. The Journal Times article was written by Lee Roberts while the piece in the Kenosha News was written by Matthew Olsen. Excerpts of both stories are shown below with links to the full articles and their accompanying videos.

Journal Times: A celebration of art: Grand opening for new UW-Parkside arts center Jan. 28

Its full name - the Rita Tallent Picken Regional Center for Arts and Humanities - is a mouthful. But perhaps such a lengthy title is appropriate for a facility that offers so much to the community. The new 170,000-square-foot center at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Somers not only provides a variety of state-of-the-art learning, performance and exhibition facilities for the university's students and faculty, but a range of arts and cultural enrichment opportunities to people throughout southeastern Wisconsin and beyond.

"The Rita" - as the center is affectionately called by some who have worked for five years to make it a reality - will officially open on Jan. 28, with a public Grand Opening Celebration. The communitywide evening event will showcase the features of the new facility, as well as many of the artistic and cultural resources that the university and its surrounding region offer. For the full article, click here.

Kenosha News: Tour the new Rita Tallent Picken Regional Center for the Arts at UW-Parkside

Though in use since the fall, the new Rita Tallent Picken Regional Center for the Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside will have its official grand opening on Jan. 28.

The $34 million project, which features 72,000 square feet of new construction along with renovation of the 107,000-square-foot Communication Arts Building, took two years.

The result:

A new concert hall bathed in natural light and surrounded by light-colored wood.

A new theater space giving actors and directors a multitude of performance options.

Three art galleries to showcase a variety of works.

New choir and band practice rooms, featuring design elements to improve sound quality.

Greatly expanded stagecraft spaces.

Artists' spaces filled with the latest technology.

The grand opening, 6:30 p.m. Jan 28, is free. Those interested in attending should register ahead of time at www.uwp.edu. For the full article, click here.

ABOUT THIS STORY:

Story Status: Archived
Publish date: 1/19/2012