What: Rice University will host a grand opening ceremony for Susan and Fayez Sarofim Hall, the new home for the Department of Art. The 83,000-square-foot facility designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro will serve as a hub for visual arts, performance, interdisciplinary collaboration and research-driven creativity. The event will include remarks from Rice and design leadership.
Who:
- Robert T. Ladd ’78, chair of Rice’s Board of Trustees
- Reginald DesRoches, Rice President
- Kathleen Canning, dean of the School of Humanities
- Charles Renfro ’87 ’89, partner at Diller Scofidio + Renfro
- John Sparagana, Grace Christian Vietti Chair in Visual Arts
When: 3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11
Where: Susan and Fayez Sarofim Hall (next to the Moody Center for the Arts) 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX 77005 (Click here for map)
Why: Sarofim Hall builds on a legacy of arts innovation at Rice that began in the late 1960s with Dominique and John de Menil. The facility includes a state-of-the-art cinema, flexible performance lab, classrooms and a student gallery designed to foster experimentation and engagement. Its striking design reinterprets Rice’s original Art Barn and Media Center, transforming the typology into an extroverted minicampus that welcomes students, faculty and the public into its creative spaces.
Media planning to attend the grand opening should RSVP with media relations specialist Brandi Smith at bs116@rice.edu or 713-348-6769 for parking information and visual assets.