The Accolade Project
Building the Future for the Next Generation of Artists
TORONTO, February 27, 2006 --York University is undergoing an unprecedented expansion and enhancement that brings visionary new cultural facilities to the GTA. The Accolade Project – a spectacular state-of-the-art teaching, exhibition and performance complex designed in joint venture by two of Canada’s leading architectural firms, Zeidler Partnership and Bregman + Hamann Architects – will be officially launched with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday, March 20 and celebrated with a week-long Fine Arts Festival, March 20-26.
“The Accolade Project is an exponential development for the teaching of fine arts in Canada,” says President and Vice Chancellor Lorna Marsden. “For York, it is our latest flagship facility designed to improve the quality of the student experience for generations to come.”
This $107.5 million expansion project totals 358,000 square feet of superb new facilities in two new buildings – Accolade East and Accolade West – framing the existing Fine Arts complex at the heart of York University’s Keele campus. This exceptional environment offers the next generation of visual and performing artists and arts scholars an outstanding new home in which to learn, create and innovate. Accolade's new performance venues will offer a bold new platform for the 250+ public events York’s Faculty of Fine Arts presents each year, and also be available for professional and community use, contributing to the growth of the vibrant arts and culture scene in Toronto and beyond.
The Accolade Project is the new home of the departments of Music and Dance, and the celebrated Art Gallery of York University. Flagship facilities include:
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325-seat recital hall with integrated recording studio,
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325-seat proscenium theatre with orchestra pit,
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500-seat cinema/lecture hall,
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two art galleries and
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a full complement of cutting-edge classrooms, labs and studios.
“Building on our strengths, The Accolade Project heralds the next exciting phase in the life of arts at York,” says Phillip Silver, dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts. “It brings all our fine arts departments together in one dynamic cluster, setting the stage for tremendous synergy between all of the different artistic disciplines. Accolade will provide a creative venue where our students and faculty can continue to push the boundaries of their art forms.”
The opening of The Accolade Project also heralds the Fine Arts Festival, a sixteen-event, seven-day showcase running March 20-26 at York University. Spotlighting the wealth of resident talent in the Departments of Music, Theatre, Visual Arts,
Dance, Film and Fine Arts Cultural Studies, the Festival welcomes the public into this extraordinary addition to York’s landscape.
The Faculty of Fine Arts at York University is one of North America's leading and largest educational institutions for the fine arts. A vibrant community of more than 3,000 students and 250 faculty working at the leading edge of fine arts practice and scholarship, it offers academic studies and professional training in all the visual and performing arts at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 190,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 10 faculties and 22 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.
The Accolade Project
Fine Arts Festival Celebrating the Opening of The Accolade Project: March 20-26
www.yorku.ca/accolade www.yorku.ca/finearts/festival
Fine Arts Festival Box Office: 416-736-5888
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For more information, contact:
Media Relations, York University, 416-736-5585 / media@yorku.ca
