UA opens Fine Arts Center after $38 million restoration

The University of Arkansas School of Art recently celebrated the opening of its historic Fine Arts Center after a $38 million restoration project. It coincided with the building’s 75th anniversary.

The restoration, led by New York-based TenBerke in collaboration with Fayetteville firm MBL Architecture, removed decades of interior alterations, reopened the sightlines designed by the building’s original architect, Edward Durell Stone, and restored the building’s modernist transparency while upgrading it for contemporary use.

Plans for the project started six years ago and comprised the center’s Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall, classrooms, theatre and courtyard. After restoration, the three-story building spans 83,344 square feet. The project doubled the size of the two-story Fine Arts Library.

The project was supported by the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation. In 2017, the UA transformed its Department of Art into the School of Art following a $120 million gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation — the largest gift ever made to a school of art in the United States. The School of Art is housed in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

“None of this would be possible without the generous support of the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation,” said Lia Uribe, Fulbright College associate dean for the arts and humanities. “We’re forever grateful for their continued investment to expand access to fine arts education.”

Support from the Windgate Foundation allowed the School of Art to develop the Windgate Art and Design District. In 2017, the school received a $40 million gift from the foundation that created the district, followed by an additional $30 million partial challenge grant in 2021 to expand and complete the district.

The district in south Fayetteville includes the Sculpture Building and the Studio and Design Center. Work is underway on the Gallery and Foundations Building, the district’s final building. Architect firms Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, based in New York, and Arkansas-based Polk Stanley Wilcox are working on the design. The building is expected to be completed in spring 2027, with operations starting in fall 2027.

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