Project name: The Judith Mara Carson Center for Visual Arts
Project overview: The Judith Mara Carson Center for Visual Arts (The Judy) occupies the top two floors of a John Russell Pope-designed building. The Judy provides a new “Great Atelier” in Manhattan to convene the New York art community to participate in multidisciplinary creativity and discourse in daylit studios.
The design maximizes space utilization in a dense urban environment. The conversion of static 7th- and 8th-floor spaces into a high-tech Visual Arts Center has elevated this diverse art-making community with new dynamic event, gala, and performance spaces. The Judy features three South Studios separated by flexible, operable glass walls. Above these studios is a new glass skylight, diffusing and optimizing natural light for drawing, painting, and sculpting. The North Studios feature Printmaking, 3D Wet and Dry, and an Immersive Digital Lab. This Lab enables advanced space and technology options for experimental program needs.
The creative economy is a significant financial engine in cities and communities around the world, yet students seeking degrees and careers in the arts are historically under-resourced. To attract the most promising and diverse student body, the project includes an endowed scholarship fund, which provides scholarships for visual art students. Additionally, the College, general contractor, and project team partnered with the Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW) Project, a groundbreaking employment model that prepares, trains, and places women in careers in the skilled construction, utility, and maintenance trades.
