ASU's Fowler Center Debuts as Unique Home for the Arts

Craig Ogilvie, travel writer
Arkansas Tourism

JONESBORO – A new and unique facility on the campus of Arkansas State University appears destined to become a mecca for the arts in the mid-South. The 79,000 square-foot Fowler Center was dedicated January 12.

Named in honor of benefactors Wallace and Jama Fowler of Jonesboro, the center includes a concert hall, drama theater, art gallery, black box theater and educational rooms. The facility will host the Delta National Small Prints Exhibition each fall.

"The building is truly one-of-a-kind," notes Jerry Biebesheimer, director of the center. "It is, first of all, a grand place for learning. The art exhibits and concert series will enhance the campus and community bringing visitors from a wide region." Total cost of the structure and furnishings was approximately $16 million.

Riceland Hall, the center's 975-seat concert hall, was meticulously designed for musical or spoken presentations. The walls feature motorized acoustical drapes that can be changed to accommodate various performances and achieve exceptional sound. The 2,000 square-foot hardwood stage can handle anything from a large orchestra, with choir, to a multi-media presentation.

Musical groups featured in February included the Kingston Trio, Chamber Orchestra Kremlin and Jitro (Czech Girls’ Choir). March events include the River City Brass Band, Glenn Miller Orchestra and the Festival of Spirituals.

The drama theater, much smaller with 344 seats, was designed for spoken drama productions and features an orchestra pit for some 25 musicians. The farthest seat in the acoustically balanced theater is only 50 feet from the stage. The ASU Department of Theatre is housed in the new center.

The "black box" experimental theater is rigged for improvisational projects, with special lighting, sound and space flexibility. Classrooms, costume and set design studios, dressing rooms and center offices are clustered near the versatile black box theater.

The 5,200 square foot Bradbury Gallery serves as a teaching area and exhibit hall for the university's permanent collection, traveling collections and special displays. A total of 66 works of Arkansas artist Carroll Cloar were featured during February-March, following the inaugural showing of works by former ASU faculty member Dan Howard and professor of art Evan Lindquist. Admission to the gallery is free.

The heart of the Fowler Center is the Grand Hall, which serves as an introduction to the building. The spacious hall features a 24-foot high elliptical ceiling with entrances to each performance area. Visitors are introduced to the center by a 50-foot circular glass-enclosed rotunda, with majestic chandelier high above and the university's great seal set in the terrazzo floor. The grand hall, art gallery and offices may be accessed from the rotunda.