Center for the Arts

The building houses the art, dance, and theatre programs, creating a collaborative atmosphere. Sunnyside Café is located in the CFA atrium where students can enjoy coffee and cinnamon rolls. The building features:

• Light-filled drawing and painting studios
• Ceramic studio
• Design lab
• Printmaking studio with a relief press, a proof press, and an intaglio press
• Darkroom
• A woodshop
• Two exhibition galleries
• Flexible 225-seat theater
• Spacious scene shop next to the theatre
• Dressing room
• Green room with kitchenette
• Costume shop equipped with 10 domestic and industrial machines and a dye vat
• Makerspace with CAD software and a plotter printer
• Two sun-filled performance and practice studios

Art Studios

There are 24 individual studio spaces for independent student work. Windows around the perimeter of the building let in lots of natural light throughout the day. The space has easels, paint stands, chairs, stools and tables for student use.

Dance Studio

Dance and theatre students have access to two studios to practice, rehearse, create, and perform. Studio I has maple wood floors and natural lighting, as well as  audio and visual equipment.

Galleries

Art majors exhibit their work in the Centennial Union Gallery or the Center for the Arts Gregerson Gallery. Other galleries in various buildings on campus make art a prominent part of the Luther community. Luther has many outdoor sculptures and selections from the Luther College Fine Art Collection on display throughout campus. Nearness to the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah and the natural landscape of the region also add dimension to the study of art at Luther.

Performance Spaces

The Center for the Arts features two performance spaces. Jewel Theatre is a flexible 225-seat performance space. Our second floor studio which also has maple floors and natural light has black walls and can accommodate a variety of seating options and is equipped with lighting, sound and video capabilities.

Theatre majors also work in Storre, an off-campus black box theatre.

Theatre Shops

The scenery, costumes, and props for the mainstage productions are made by students and faculty/staff. The scene shop and costume shop employ many work-study students comprised of majors and non-majors alike. The scene shop is equipped with a 18 ft tall garage door between the shop and the Jewel Theatre, allowing scenery to be constructed in the shop, but easily moved onto stage.  The costume shop is located on the second floor of the building with north facing windows that let in natural light. Costume storage is located off premises in Storre, holding over 1,000 costumes.