The new art wing at DGS is expected to be an exciting addition to the school during the summer of 2020.

Plans for the wing are underway and are going to change the art program in many new ways. DGS Fine Arts Department Chair Glenn Williams is embracing the change fully and shared what’s expected in the addition.

“Facilities in general can put a lid on your thinking. …  New spaces are going to give people an opportunity to dream and vision in big and huge ways we don’t even know or understand yet,” Williams said.

The addition includes four new rooms: a ceramics studio, a 2D studio, a digital studio and a jewelry/2D studio. All rooms have connecting doors, each with their own outdoor access. Additionally, there will be a larger arcade hallway added, along with display cases to show off every class’s work.

Video presentation monitors are one of the examples of technology being incorporated into the renovation.

As of now, everything that the art department has asked for is being added to this extension, and it is looking to create better opportunities for the students and staff. 

Senior Marjorie Lichner has been in drawing and painting classes for two years and is excited for the incoming art students who will have the chance to use all of the new equipment.

“I really hope that the classrooms are a little bit more beneficial to art kids’ needs because last year… the room itself was nice, but we didn’t really have enough space and there were a whole bunch of leftover stuff thrown about the room and some of the space we had wasn’t even utilized because we didn’t have enough storage,” Lichner said.

Wight & Company, the firm working on the art wing attached to C hallway, has been progressing as planned. The new wing could be ready for a “soft move-in” by the end of this school year.

Although the new art wing is expected to benefit the art program later on, there is a bit of deconstruction that is currently underway.

“Right now, people are in temporary rooms. Everybody is adapting and adjusting really well, but it’s not a negative because I think we all understand what’s coming is going to be so wonderful. … It’s more like a transition season,” Williams said.

This addition will change the art program in many different ways, but according to Lichner, construction is worthwhile in order to create a wing that will be there for future DGS art students.

“I think that addition-wise, it kind of stinks to be in the same room when it happens. Like hearing construction outside, but I know that people who are going to experience the art room are going to have a really positive experience. So I think that the construction itself kind of sucks, but the outcome is going to be great,” Lichner said.

Even though the wing is concentrated on art, the construction can have an effect on other classes in the school. Math teacher Timm Linders has classes both next to and away from the work being done outside but doesn’t think of the construction as a big issue in his classes.

“There are some days it can be very loud, sometimes it’s a little mesmerizing to watch what they are doing out there, so it kind of takes your focus away a little bit, but all in all it hasn’t been awful,” Linders said. 

Construction on the wing could be finishing up before this summer, and the new rooms are anticipated to be ready for a “full move-in” by the start of the next school year.