Photo by Ali Rasper: The state of the Center for the Visual Arts, according to 2018 arts technology student Lucas Stiegman, is how he visualizes Alcatraz when looking next door to the College of Business. “The CVA is mainly composed of long white hallways made of cream colored tile on the ceilings and floor.”
What will the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts do with its $12 million donation from Kim after the school’s renaming?
Illinois State University students in the visual arts are worried their classrooms and programs will be overlooked when renovations begin.
According to the university, the donation is set aside for updated technology, guest artists, scholarships, lecture series, theatre programs, dance programs, archaeological work, updated learning spaces and University Galleries.
At the beginning of the year, the university received $9.6 million to update the Center for the Visual Arts. The money was used for heating, air conditioning and ventilation according to Director of Media Relations Eric Jome.
Because the University’s use of the $9 million donation in Jan. failed to address many student concerns, art students are wondering where most of the new $12 million donation will be spent.
Three visual arts students want the university to use the new donation for safer classrooms and lower supply fees. They wished to remain anonymous to ensure they could speak with total honesty while preserving their professional reputations.
“We essentially live here. Not even just staying late, we’re here all day for three-hour classes. We’re doing projects where we have to be in these rooms,” one sophomore said.
The visual arts programs require students to buy their own supplies and computer programs outside of the CVA labs. Because tools and programs are often thousands of dollars, students must complete the majority of their homework in the building.
This semester, the university changed the printing system for art students. Printing is vital to the visual arts, and each digital project draft must be printed to ensure its quality on paper.
“On top of paying for classes, paying for tuition, we’re paying five times more just to print,” the sophomore said.
Originally, the students purchased their own rolls of printing paper averaging $80-$100 and used them for the semester. Under the new printing system, students pay for each printed page using their university ID.
If a student prints a draft and it comes out wrong due to computer or printer settings, the student loses money.
“That’s the thing you have to be in our shoes to understand is that we mess up, and it’s nothing you can control. There’s nothing you can do about it,” one junior said.
According to the sophomore, students must now pay around $500 for the same amount of paper originally one student-purchased roll supplies.
The students acknowledged that ink is expensive but questioned the university’s decision to make printing more expensive this year.
“We would pay for that stuff with our lab fees which are paid with tuition and everything for our classes, but now, we’re paying for the ink with every print that we have to send through the system,” one senior said.
Students also said they receive no documentation for how their lab fees are spent. Lab fees are paid on top of art supply costs.
“Even the professors, even they’re unclear about what the rundown (of the cost) is,” the junior said.
In addition to printing costs, students are unsatisfied with the building’s interior and compared it to a prison. They said the building has few windows, neutral-colored walls and bad internet connection.
“This is the art building. We are art students. Where is the art?” the sophomore asked.
Students said the sinks in the CVA often produce brown water, and some sinks in the bathrooms are cracked with exposed pipes.
While they know about some upcoming renovations, the students hope part of the new donation will be used to ensure student safety and liven the environment in the building.
“We know that the $12 million, some of it is going to be used for the darkroom. They’re going to be tearing down some walls to reorganize the sinks and enlargers,” the senior said.
Photo by Ali Rasper: Gov. JB Pritzker visited Illinois State University Jan. 30 to announce a major project for the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts at ISU. Pritzker unveiled his $52.3 million budget for renovations to the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts. Students flooded the room at the Center for Visual Arts building to hear Pritzker's plan.
After Gov. Pritzker announced the release of $52.3 million to fund the renovation of the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts buildings, student art majors began making wishlists.
Freshman graphic design and creative technology major Jaeci Johnston said she would love a more accessible gallery space to share student art with the rest of campus.
“Right now, we have a small student gallery called Transpace, but the location of it feels hidden. If you aren’t in the CVA building all the time, you would miss it,” Johnston said.
Johnston wants students from all majors to feel comfortable viewing the art on display in the building.
“I wish that a new CVA building would let our amazing and talented artists show off a little by encouraging more people to visit,” Johnston said.
“Our artists work hard on those gallery exhibitions, and they deserve all the recognition that a new and improved gallery space would give them,” Johnston continued.
Another freshman graphic design major, Madison Brendal, is looking forward to updated work spaces.
“I am hoping for a high-tech graphic design studio, as well as a refurbished ceramics area to our school, but overall, I hope everyone gets something to look forward to,” Brendal said.
Some current students like sophomore photography major Tate Skinner want the new funding to be used for more general repairs to the building. Last fall, students complained of brown water and poor air ventilation in the building.
“I believe they might already be doing it, but updating the darkroom would be a nice improvement. It'd also be nice if they were to improve internet service in the building. An improvement in the water or air quality would also be nice,” Skinner said.
Initially, the state approved funding for the building renovation in 2010. After ISU used the first installment of funds to begin planning, the state held the remaining funds necessary to complete the project.
While the project did not progress as planned, the state did release $9.6 million in emergency funding over the past seven years to repair the building’s roof and infrastructure.
The additional $52.3 million will allow ISU to complete renovation and new construction for the fine arts complex.
Director of Media Relations Eric Jome said the project is still in its design and planning phase.
“An exact construction timeline has not been finalized, but work will be done in phases to minimize disruption to classes and programs within the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts,” Jome said in a press release.
