The University
of Maine has a unique opportunity to remake The Maine Center for
the Arts, its signature facility and the cultural centerpiece of eastern and
northern Maine, into a nationally significant model for a new kind of cultural
institution for the 21st century.
The paradigm for
the past 200 years has been to separate culture from cultures, to segregate
the performing arts from the physical artifacts of human culture, thereby
creating distinct organizations, different goals, dedicated buildings. UMaine
seeks to lead the development of a new paradigm, one that sets aside artificial
distinctions and replaces them with a multidimensional cultural institution
bringing together the cultures of the museum with the culture of the theater
and the concert hall. We propose to explore in new ways the core attributes
of humanity in a world where cultures clash.
Impelled
by the need to correct design deficiencies in both the Hutchins Performance
Hall and the Hudson Museum, and informed by a new sense of urgency attached
to appreciating different forms of cultural expression and understanding of
their roots, UMaine is affirming a deeper vision: not only will the MCA be
the University’s preeminent cultural facility, it will also be emblematic
of its educational goals and aspirations. The MCA must be an ongoing celebration
of human diversity and creative genius expressed through both exhibits and
performances. No visitor should leave without his or her understanding of
humanity’s achievements having been expanded and stimulated. Architecture
plays a critical, enabling role in realizing this goal.
