University’s Chancellor opens new inspiring Arts centre
Friday 17 June 2011
The Duke of Kent, the University of Surrey’s Chancellor, has opened an impressive new arts centre on campus which will be home to theatre productions and dance studios.
The new centre, based at the main entrance to the campus, is a modern and flexible performing arts facility created for the Guildford School of Acting (GSA) and the University’s Department of Dance, Film and Theatre.
Based in a former sports building, the new Ivy Arts Centre provides a theatre, studios, workshops, dressing rooms and also a large wardrobe store and a costume-making room.
The main theatre seats 200 people, with balconies, lighting gantries, scenery-lifting equipment, stage-lighting and audio-visual technology.
A new entrance to the building houses the box office, foyer and a bar, with a stage door providing separate access for cast and crew.
The Ivy Arts Centre’s facilities complement those in the GSA’s striking new home following its move to the University campus from Guildford town centre in 2009.
It will provide students with their own facilities to pursue their studies for rehearsals and performances, as well as hosting touring productions as part of the University’s regular programme of Arts events.
Professor Phil Powrie, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences, said: “The fantastic new facilities should inspire students to fulfil their great potential. The new Ivy Arts Centre, coupled with the GSA opposite it, realises the ambition of creating an Arts Hub right at the entrance to the campus.
“This is a testament to the University of Surrey's commitment to promoting the Arts, both as a key academic discipline and as one of the major ways in which we support the creative industries. It also puts another top-class venue on Guildford’s cultural map.”
