The University of Arkansas School of Art in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences is building something beautiful for students who are studying art and design. The state’s first and only accredited, collegiate school of art opened the doors to its newest space, the Studio and Design Center, in January 2023, completing phase one of the Windgate Art and Design District.

The Studio and Design Center houses the studio art program areas in ceramics, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking and M.F.A. and B.F.A. studios, as well as the graphic design program and new graduate M.Des. degree. In addition, the building features a design clinic offering collaboration with community partners, a print lab and a coffee bar serving students, faculty and the community. In essence, it’s reuniting programs and students that have been spread across 12 different locations on and around the U of A campus and Fayetteville community. 

Kayla Crenshaw, director of administration and communication for the School of Art, said, “When we envisioned the Studio and Design Center, we saw this as a place where art, design and education come together.”

Increased square footage – in the form of 154,000 square feet of space – also brings the potential for increased collaboration. The building not only brings media disciplines together but also invites the community into the space simply through vast windows lining M.L.K. Jr. Boulevard, open floor plans, courtyards and terraces. A design clinic is even integrated into the facility – a space specifically designed to allow for long-term community collaborations and allow bridges to be built between faculty and students outside of the classroom. 

 “Students are discovering what might not be possible elsewhere is possible here,” Crenshaw said. 

The center and district have come to life thanks to the generosity of the Windgate Charitable Support Foundation. In 2017, the School of Art received a transformational $40 million gift from the foundation that created the district and an additional $30 million partial grant challenge to expand and complete the district in 2021.

The School of Art was also established in 2017 thanks to an unprecedented $120 million gift from the Walton Family Foundation – the largest gift ever given to a U.S. university to support or establish a school of art. 

For more background on the School of Art and the Studio and Design Center, check out the university’s Determined story, “Art in the Natural State.” And for additional Short Takes videos, visit shorttakes.uark.edu. 

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas’ economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.