Students and Faculty Celebrate Opening of Arts and Community Center

Students and Faculty Celebrate Opening of Arts and Community Center

The Thomas S. Perakos Arts and Community Center was officially opened to students and faculty on Monday, January 6, when the first School Meeting of 2020 was held in the Tisch Family Auditorium. Head of School Peter Becker inaugurated the new building by welcoming students back from winter break and acknowledging that they are the first generation of students who have the opportunity to live the school's Vision for the Arts.
 

“At The Gunnery, we ask students to learn to take public risks, to be makers not consumers, to be citizens who imagine a beautiful future without cynicism, to face failure with hope,” Becker said. “That – in this day and age  – is about as ambitious a vision as this building was. We hope that is happening on this stage and in the classrooms, and that our students are learning and growing every day in big ways and small ways.”

Over the course of the first week it was open, the new building blended seamlessly into the day-to-day life of the school, yet its impact was transformative. Day One brought the start of classes in photography, music, drawing and painting in the classrooms and studios of the Richard C. Colton, Jr. ’60 Art Wing, as well as rehearsal on stage for the winter musical, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” which will be performed in the Tisch Family Auditorium in February.

On January 7, students were invited to tour and spend time in the Arts and Community Center by grade level informally. “I love the architecture and the way it captures the acoustics,” Lucas Rosati ’20 said of the auditorium. “I’m appreciative that we have the opportunity to be in a space like this.”

All students and faculty were invited to contribute to a collaborative community art project based on a theme that was established with the all-school reading of “The Hidden Life of Trees” by Peter Wohlleben last summer – trees, which have come to symbolize the school community as a living, growing, interconnected ecosystem. Some of the furniture in the new building was crafted from trees that were taken down on campus, noted Wendy Rhodes P’20 ’22, Executive Assistant to the Head of School, who planned the opening events and the community art project, working in collaboration with a focus group of students and artist Lisa Condino P’21.

A quote from Frederick Gunn, chosen by the students, "Think boldly, fearlessly; never fear where unfettered thought will lead you," is incorporated into the root system of the tree along with scanned copies of two letters from the Paula and George Krimsky Archives and Special Collections, written in Mr. Gunn’s own hand. The first is focused on his idea of a school, first for learning and then, as a family place with the values of a home. The other is about friendship and includes his reflections on and descriptions of nature, including the trees, weather and birds that surrounded him.

More than a dozen young alumni from the Classes of 2017, 2018 and 2019 were on campus January 8 for lunch and a tour. “This building is incredible. It’s on par with a lot of college buildings,” observed Lexi Nanavaty ’17, who is majoring in art history and French at Sarah Lawrence and returned to campus from Paris, where she was studying this year. 

On January 10, students and faculty returned to the auditorium for a special concert featuring performances by two guest bands: Mattson, which offered a blend of pop, rock, country and electronic dance music, and the alternative rock band and Better Noise recording artists Nevrlands. Both were well received by students, some of whom rushed the stage or held up the flashlights on their cell phones from the audience. Even the performers seemed impressed by the new venue, and that appreciation was echoed by visitors of all ages in the days that followed.

“One of the great privileges of being part of this project is that I got to be here at the beginning,” Becker said, reflecting on the more than two years of planning, fundraising and construction that went into the project. He recognized and acknowledged the many, many people involved, from the architects at S/L/A/M and the construction team at O&G Industries to all of the subcontractors representing different trades.

“When you walk into this building, I want you to have a sense of everything that it took to make this happen,” Becker told the students, acknowledging the contributions of many on campus, including the arts faculty, who teach, create and shape the student experience; Director of the Arts Ron Castonguay, who moved to Washington with his family this summer to lead the arts programs; Michel Williams, The Gunnery’s Project Manager and Director of Safety and Security, who represented the school’s interests throughout the planning and construction; Associate Head of School Seth Low, whose vision and perseverance led to the creation of both the fireplace in the community room and the new Glade; Rhodes for planning the opening events; Condino for making the community art project possible; Chief Financial Officer Chris Cowell, and his predecessor Bill Zekas, who worked to ensure every donation was spent wisely; and Sean Brown, Kiersten Marich P’23 and the Alumni & Development Office, who raised all of the funds for the project.

“None of this would have been possible without them and without our donors and Trustees,” Becker said, recognizing in particular Jonathan Tisch ’72 and Steven Tisch ’67, whose family generously supported the creation of the Tisch Family Auditorium, and Richard C. Colton, Jr., ’60, who generously supported the new Arts Wing.

Becker also thanked the neighbors, especially those most impacted by the construction, the town’s zoning board and Historic District Commission, who approved the project, as well as the faculty living closest to the construction site, in Teddy House, Emerson and Graham, for their patience and endurance. “It was a mind-bogglingly complex process to get to tonight, where we get to enjoy a celebration of this place and this space,” he said.

View more photos from the gala opening in our SmugMug gallery.

Additional Images

Ron Castonguay, Director of the Arts, Wendy Rhodes P’20 ’22, Executive Assistant to the Head of School, artist Lisa Condino P’21, and Head of School Peter Becker with the collaborative community art project representing students, faculty and staff

A bird's eye view of the gala opening reception

Students enjoyed the fire pit on the back patio.

Arts faculty members Jesse Perkins, Lincoln Turner, Sarah Albright, Ron Castonguay, Elizabeth Dayton ’08, and Andrew Richards P'20'23

Mattson on stage in the Tisch Family Auditorium

Alternative rock band and Better Noise recording artists Nevrlands