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Kevin and Karen Kennedy Center for Theatre and the Studio Arts
The Kevin and Karen Kennedy Center for Theatre and the Studio Arts (commonly “Kennedy Arts Center” or “Kennedy Center”) is a performing and visual arts facility at Hamilton College that opened in fall 2014. It consolidated previously scattered Theater Department and Studio Art facilities — including Minor Theater, faculty offices, and studio spaces — into a single building on Martin’s Way. The construction was framed as the latest in a series of enhancements dating back to the Schambach Center renovation in 1988, and followed the 2012 opening of the adjacent Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art.
Key Features
- Two theaters (main and secondary performance space)
- Studio arts classrooms
- Theater classrooms and shop space
- Faculty offices for Theater and Art departments
Background
The building was under active construction in spring 2013, with faculty from Theater and Art departments expressing enthusiasm for how it would unify their programs and increase the visibility of the arts at Hamilton. Music professor Sam Pellman was described as “at the forefront of the college’s push to strengthen arts facilities.” Professor of Theatre Carole Bellini-Sharp played a “major role in the building’s construction.” (Spectator, February 7, 2013; Spectator, September 4, 2014)
The first student-run musical production in the Kennedy Arts Center was noted as a milestone in early 2015. (Spectator, January 29, 2015)
Related Entities
- Minor Theater
- Schambach Center (stub needed)