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The Department of Art and Art History is noted nationally for its outstanding facilities, modern equipment, and extensive support resources. Its program in photography is of international repute. While the University Art Museum is not operated by the college, it does provide important historical and contemporary study collections in a setting where students can grow from exposure to the work of other artists.
Art students specializing in printmaking often gain additional valuable experience at Tamarind Institute, world renowned for its post-degree research and training programs in lithography. Jonson Gallery (operated by the University Museum) houses contemporary paintings by New Mexico artists.
Of special importance to both art history and studio students is the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology with major collections of primitive, prehistoric, Spanish Colonial and Southwestern arts. Resources are also provided by the Fine Arts Library containing 105,000 volumes and the Bainbridge Bunting Memorial Slide Library containing 300,000 fine arts slides.
Keller Hall, with its magnificent Holtkamp organ and its marvelous recording capability, is the main performance site of the Department of Music. With a seating capacity of 330, Keller Hall houses over 150 concerts per year, including student soloists and ensembles, chamber groups, and guest artists. Two annual music events mark the calendar: The Keller Hall Series, a distinguished series of chamber music and solo performances by UNM faculty artists, and the Composers' Symposium, a week of concerts and lectures by regional, national and international composers.
In addition to Keller Hall, the Music section of the The University of New Mexico Center for the Arts includes faculty studios, two large rehearsal halls, numerous practice rooms for Music students and the electronic music studio. The Fine Arts Library, which contains more than 105,000 volumes and a listening center with an extensive collection of tapes and records.
Department of Theatre & Dance students perform in Rodey Theatre, a flexible 420-seat theatre capable of presentation in thrust or proscenium and Theatre X a 100-seat "black box" theatre. Costume, lighting and set designers and technicians work in well-equipped shops in the The University of New Mexico Center for the Arts. Historic and spacious Carlisle Gym provides five studios, two classrooms and eleven faculty/staff offices for the Dance Program.
The Department of Media Arts has screening and editing facilities in the lower level of the The University of New Mexico Center for the Arts and because of growth in the program is anticipating expansion into new offices and studios in the near future.
The University of New Mexico Center for the Arts performance halls were renovated and dramatically transformed during 1995. The Center which is located near Central and Cornell at the pedestrian entrance to campus, houses four theatres which offer scores of public performances each year.
As you enter the main lobby, you find yourself surrounded by architectural features which echo the spirit and color of the Southwest. Immediately inside the lobby is a tile mural entitled "Culturas del Sol" which was designed by University of New Mexico art professors José Rodriguez and Jim Jacob, and Maestro José Lazcarro of Universidad de las Americas in Puebla, Mexico. An identical mural is installed in the William O. Jenkins Humanities Building in Puebla. The mural is crafted in Talavera tile from Cholula, Mexico, and incorporates icons from both Mexican and New Mexican cultures.
detail of Culturas del Sol tile mural in the Center for the Arts a joint project of UNM and the Universidad de las Americas
Three art carpets designed by Albuquerque artist Joan Weissman grace the entry ways of Popejoy Hall, Keller Hall and the University Art Museum. Stairways lead from the lobby to Rodey Theatre and the Theatre X. Travertine treads on the stairs complement the warm brown and gold hues of the walls and carpets. Matching bancos and benches provide casual seating along the walls of the lobby.
The Footlights Café which occupies a portion of the lobby opposite the entrance to Popejoy Hall provides hot and cold beverages and snacks prior to performances. Limited seating is available at the café.
Each theatre has its own individual character. Popejoy Hall is a large capacity hall which is home to the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Albuquerque Civic Light Opera Association, and the Ovation Series featuring orchestral performances, grand-scale musical theatre, opera productions, touring shows and popular lectures. Rodey Theatre is set for more intimate theatrical productions with seating for up to 410. Keller Hall welcomes small recitals, chamber orchestras and solo performances with fully functioning sound recording equipment and a seating capacity of 310.
Popejoy is the premier performance hall in the state. With a seating capacity of 2,044, it is the largest facility of its kind in New Mexico. As Popejoy heads to its 30th anniversary, it has acquired a warmer, richer feeling and improved acoustical and visual appeal. Moving from the main lobby to the entrance of Popejoy Hall, the energy changes with the colors, from the brighter hues of the Southwest to the deeper tones of cherry wood and rich red upholstery. A cherry wood proscenium arch frames the stage and matching walls envelop you in quiet splendor. Their subtle, billowing forms radiate a warm and welcoming atmosphere.
The seats in Popejoy are a touch wider than standard theatre seats for greater comfort. Further, we have over 75 locations for persons with disabilities, including wheelchair seating positions available companion seats, and transfer seats to fully integrate disabled individuals in the orchestra section.
Extensive curtaining inside Popejoy allows the hall to be tuned acoustically for human voice, acoustic instruments or amplified sound.
Rodey Theatre is charged with stronger colors, deep reds and blues. Seating is designed to keep you close to the action on stage while providing for your comfort. The acoustics in Rodey are well-tuned for the human voice.
Entering Keller Hall from the lobby, you will immediately be struck with the richness of polished maple walls and gold curtains on the sides and in back. Green seats provide a striking contrast and a settling effect. Acoustically, Keller is a very live hall, perfect for instrumental performances; curtains on the sides allow us to retune the hall, setting the right tone for each performance.
The Theatre X is a black box theatre with the capacity to seat 136 patrons; it can be configured in many different ways to accommodate various styles of staging.
The changes made to the The University of New Mexico Center for the Arts have made it warm and welcoming, a wonderful New Mexican home for the performing arts.
Nearly as soon as he began his presidency of UNM in 1948, Tom L. Popejoy had a vision for a Fine Arts Center. Thirteen years later, his dream began to take shape as a three-phase construction project got underway. The first phase of the Fine Arts Center was dedicated in 1964.
In 1966, the University of New Mexico Concert Hall was opened with a concert performed by the Utah Symphony on October 1. Two years later, on May 5, 1968, as Tom Popejoy was retiring, the concert hall was rededicated in his name and has served the university and the greater community of New Mexico since with as many as 325 days a year booked for performances or rehearsals. Bill Martin managed Popejoy from its inception until his death in 1993 at which time W. Georg Schreiber took over the reins as interim director. In 1994, UNM Public Events was created to manage the hall and Betsy Brininger was named the first director of the department. In 1996 after the completion of the renovation of the performance halls and lobby, the name of the building was changed from the Fine Arts Center to "The University of New Mexico Center for the Arts."
Keller Hall, originally named the University of New Mexico Fine Arts Recital Hall, was completed as part of the second phase of construction. The hall included an organ built by Walter Holtkamp, an instrument with more than 2,700 pipes and that has gained some renown in musical circles. It was renamed in April 1971 for Walter Keller former faculty member and head of the piano department.
There has been a Rodey Theatre on campus since the 1930s when the theatre department took over a building that had been a chapel, post office and offices for campus publications. Condemned in 1968, that facility was replaced in 1973 by the present theatre. The theatre was named after Bernard S. Rodey, the "Father of the University," for his work in drafting the bill that founded UNM. The new theatre is dedicated to Bernard and his son, Pearce C. Rodey, for their contributions to the university.
For information about productions by the Departments of Music or Theatre & Dance in the College of Fine Arts, the Ovation Series, NMSO or ACLOA, please call the Public Events Ticket Office 505/277-4joy, to order tickets by phone call tickets.com 851-5050 or 1-800/905-3315.
