09/27/19

By Diane Gasper-O’Brien
University Relations and Marketing
HAYS, Kan. – It seemed like just a dream for so long that it’s still hard for Karrie Simpson Voth to believe her eyes when she looks out the window of her office.

From the first floor of the new Center for Art and Design at Fort Hays State University, Simpson Voth can get lost in her thoughts, watching students walk across the quad or a landscaping crew seed grass around the building.

The 43,000-square-foot CAD was finished in August, just in time for the start of classes this fall, and Simpson Voth calls it a game changer.

The center is a must-see for those attending FHSU’s 2019 Homecoming. A ribbon cutting and reception are set for 9 a.m. Friday, Oct. 11, at the CAD as part of Homecoming activities.

“I’ve watched people come in and just stop and gaze, so the building sells itself,” said Simpson Voth, professor and chair of the Department of Art and Design. “We are standing on a great reputation that was built over decades by former faculty as well as current faculty. Now we have the incredible facility to go with it.”

A portion of the dedication will center on burying a time capsule with artwork, tools and other items from current students and faculty that will give those attending Fort Hays State in 2044 a glimpse of the art and design program of 25 years before.

The time capsule is a collaborative effort. The  25-by-13-by-7-inch box is made of stainless steel donated by the FHSU maintenance department and built by Fort Hays State sculpture students under the direction of Toby Flores, associate professor of sculpture. Simpson Voth created the design for the top of the box, which will be cast in bronze.

Simpson Voth, a two-time FHSU graduate who has taught at her alma mater for 21 years, cites two major advantages to the new building: light and connectivity, which complement each other in every sense.

“We want to have shared experiences, pulling things together,” Simpson Voth said. “This gives us such a sense of community.”

The inside classroom walls also are glass, giving student artists the chance to draw inspiration for the activity outside their classroom. It also gives passersby the chance to witness the creativity within.

So it’s easy to see why Simpson Voth is excited to show off the new building. She thinks alumni will be thrilled, from the creativity to the limestone covering that keeps with the tradition of the campus – and everything in between.

Alumni who will get an early glimpse of the new building are two FHSU graduates from the Kansas City area. Buck Arnhold and Brittany Bange are scheduled to speak in the new CAD on Thursday afternoon.

Arnhold, who holds three degrees from FHSU, is one of FHSU’s Alumni Achievement Award winners this year. He is a well-known artist in Kansas City who formerly created banners for the player foundations of the Kansas City Chiefs. Bange is a product and marketing manager at Hallmark.

Simpson Voth thinks students will thoroughly enjoy hearing from those alumni, as well as Sandy Gellis, a New York artist. Gellis is the donor of a mask collection which belonged to her husband, Garry Rich, also a New York artist and the collector of the masks. The masks, from Central and South America, adorn the south wall of the first-floor lounge area.

Arnhold will be able to shed a different light on how studying art at FHSU 40-some years ago differs from today. His first degree was a bachelor of arts in 1974. He later earned a master of arts and a master of fine arts from Fort Hays State.

Other features that make the building so engaging are state-of-the-art technology throughout, a second-story balcony that overlooks an atrium filled with chairs and small tables. An enclosed walkway leads visitors to the new Moss-Thorns Gallery of Art in a renovated spacious brick building that housed the university’s power plant until the late 1960s.

The former power plant was completely remodeled. The bricks on the outside were cleaned, and matching bricks cover a new storage addition built to the west of the gallery for the department’s vast art collection.

The art and design professors are proud of the ownership they have in the new building. They got the opportunity to work with the architects to explain their needs for their students and their classrooms.

“We professors are the experts in our areas, so the architects took our vision and brought it to life,” Simpson Voth said. “We made decisions together and for our program areas, so we all had a guiding hand in the process, which makes the building that much more special.”