PROVO, Utah — Excited chatter filled rooms and hallways as students and alumni flooded through the doorways of the new Brigham Young University Arts Building on Saturday, Oct. 10, for the grand opening of the new building and the College of Fine Arts and Communication’s Centennial Celebration.
Moving light fixtures hung from the ceiling of the first-floor atrium and immediately attracted the attention of guests as melodies from the Honors Quartet welcomed them. Once inside, guests received a calendar of events and were invited to explore the newly completed building, art exhibits and performances.
The celebration
Events and performances were held in the new Arts Building and the Museum of Art from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10.
The Centennial Celebration featured performances from dance, theater, film and musical groups at BYU and self-guided tours through the Museum of Art exhibits and the Arts Building.
To many, this celebration meant honoring the “giants” who helped create the art programs at the university, college officials and students said.
“I feel really honored to be a part of it,” said Julia Perfili, a student in BYU’s Music Dance Theatre program.
At the event, Perfili performed a pre-show to the production “All the Beautiful Things.” Before and after these shows, she had the opportunity to meet with guests. It was in these conversations that she met a woman who traveled to Utah from Atlanta, Georgia, to attend the night’s festivities.
“I didn’t realize how impactful and meaningful it was for so many people,” Perfili reflected, “it feels really meaningful to stand on the shoulders of giants, of people who were willing to build up programs so that I could have what I have.”
The Arts Building
The Harris Fine Arts Center was dedicated in 1965. It was home to students and faculty for 59 years before its demolition in 2023. During the construction of the Arts Building from 2023 to 2026, classes were temporarily relocated to the old Provo High School, located on University Avenue.
On Saturday, current arts students, alumni and friends were welcomed into the new building for the first time.
The new Arts Building allows for students to practice their craft in 28 classrooms, 29 studios, 12 labs and four rehearsal spaces. There are also six galleries and four theaters for individuals and groups to display their talent and hard work.
“This is tremendous,” said Whitney Montenegro, a BYU graduate in Humanities and Art History.
Montenegro was raised in a musical household, and by the example of her mother, she developed a love for the arts. “I do feel that our humanity is expressed, to a very large degree, through our art, through our feeling, through our music,” she said.
Faith and education
Dr. Diane Reich, dean of BYU’s College of Fine Arts and Communications, expressed her desire for the building to be a place where students can go to learn “by study and also by faith,” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:118).
To Reich, it is important to provide the students with all of the tools, and faculty necessary to help them. She wants them to “feel that this is a space where they can be inspired and where they can feel the spirit,” she said, “and where they can combine those two things: the sacred and the craft.”
She added: “What I hope is that this building is a place where our students and alums, and the community, feel welcome.”
