Do we value the arts at the University? There has clearly been a great deal of investment in bringing high quality arts to the University — there are almost 3,500 arts organizations on Grounds and there are constantly arts events for students to attend. Yet as valued as the arts are here at the University, Arts Grounds are practically deserted. Situated in isolation from Central Grounds, Arts Grounds is rarely crowded. As a result, the arts are a separate and segmented part of the University community, instead of an integral part of it. This is not an inevitable problem — with only a few changes the University could revitalize Arts Grounds.
Arts Grounds are made distant and strange right when students enter the University. Summer orientation has students travel from Central Grounds to new dorms for events, but they never get close to Arts Grounds. The same story repeats itself for fall orientation, which has a great number of events, none of which are on Arts Grounds. In a basic sense this is logical, as Arts Grounds are so far away that some new students would inevitably get lost going there. But it also makes Arts Grounds, and University arts as an extension, as something distant for students who are not already involved in it.
The avoidance of Arts Grounds by students is only helped by the University arts events. Last year 26,081 students attended more than 2,000 UVA Arts events. Many of these arts events were on Arts Grounds, unsurprisingly. However, the vast majority of the 26,000 students who went to a University art event went to one that was off Arts Grounds. The Virginia Film Festival, Speaker Series for the Arts and events at the Fralin accounted for more than half of student arts events attendance yet only have a tangential connection to Arts Grounds at best. The University should hold more significant and popular events on Arts Grounds that will encourage student to at least visit a possibly unexplored space.
Arts Grounds would be so much more populated if the area was advertised as a place to study and hang out. The Architecture School building has ample study space yet very few people take advantage of it. The same goes for the Fine Arts Library. These buildings are also as close or closer than any other library for thousands of students who live in the 14th Street area. The Fine Arts Café is a great dining option, but not nearly as popular as places like West Range Café because it is tucked away on Arts Grounds. More promotion of this dining option could pull a lot of students out to Arts Grounds. If the University would only mention Arts Grounds as a possible place to study and eat it would go a long way to getting students to use the space.
It is a tragedy that many people can graduate the University while never going to Arts Grounds. Not only is it a beautiful part of Grounds, but it also is a very different area than anywhere else in the University. Walking around students are exposed to public art exhibitions, large advertisements for an event taking place on Arts Grounds and arts students working on their projects. Students on Arts Grounds are inevitably exposed to new art and ideas just by virtue of being there. If the University will just advertise the Arts Grounds better, hold more popular events in the arts buildings and promote the space during orientation I believe that a great deal more people would learn to embrace Arts Grounds and the arts themselves.
Bobby Doyle is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at b.doyle@cavalierdaily.com.
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