Colby-Sawyer College will celebrate the grand opening of its Center for Art + Design with a public reception on Friday, Oct. 13, from 4 to 7 p.m. Guests are invited to explore the 15,000-square-foot facility, view the inaugural exhibition and extend the evening with a theater performance. The event is free.

Made possible by sustained fundraising efforts, the $7 million, 15,000 square-foot facility situated on the southeast end of campus has views of Mount Kearsarge and an outdoor sculpture garden. Inside, it boasts the state-of-the-art John and Heidi Niblack Black Box Theater; ceramics, graphic design, painting and sculpture studios; the Bill and Sonja Davidow '56 Fine Art Gallery; and faculty offices. The center was designed by the S/L/A/M Collaborative of Glastonbury, Conn., which also designed the Ware Student Center expansion (2013).

The grand opening will feature “Inner Visions: Selections from the Collection of Beverly Stearns Bernson ’55,” an extraordinary exhibition composed primarily of outsider art , including works by including Martin Ramirez (1895–1963), Bill Traylor (1853–1949) and Nellie Mae Rowe (1900–1982). The show will run through Dec. 10; learn more here.

Following the reception, student actors perform in the 1995 off-Broadway comedy “Sylvia” by A. R. Gurney that explores the relationship between a dog and the couple who adopts her. Tickets for the first production in the Niblack Black Box Theater are available at www.colby-sawyer.edu/tickets, through the Anne Baynes Hall Box Office at the Center for Art + Design on performance nights, or by contacting mlovell@colby-sawyer.edu.

The Arts at Colby-Sawyer

Studying the arts at Colby-Sawyer is a multidimensional experience that blends students’ creative talent with professional preparation and opportunities to learn alongside talented faculty and guest artists. Colby-Sawyer offers B.A. and B.F.A. degrees in studio art and graphic design as well as instruction in theater, dance and music. Learn more here.