Brigham Young University is tearing down the Harris Fine Arts Center and replacing it with the construction of the new Arts Building for the College of Fine Arts and Communication. The building will host the performance spaces, media rooms, and cinema production areas for the departments of art, design, and theatre and media.
“We didn’t have an animation program then we didn't have a film program then, we didn’t have a design program then … this building wasn’t designed for those and we need a building to help our film and animation programs,” said Ed Adams, dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communications at BYU.
While the new building is under construction the departments will work out of the new Music Building which is finishing up its construction.
New buildings at BYU are forgoing the tradition of being named after people, and are now being named simply after their utility purpose.
“It’s a recognition that many of the blessings we have come from the Church and they don’t come from single individuals and we are not esteeming one person over another and so we are in a mode where we are going to build buildings and name them after their purpose,” Adams said.
Demolition is scheduled for the first quarter of 2023 and the project is predicted to be completed by 2025.