Groundbreaking scheduled for March 27

The cultural landscape of southern Utah will soon take a major step forward with a groundbreaking ceremony that signals the beginning of construction on a new performing and visual arts complex. Staci Carson, associate vice president of institutional advancement at Southern Utah University, recently announced the groundbreaking for the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts scheduled for March 27 at 3 p.m. on the grounds of the Randall L. Jones Theatre.

The groundbreaking ceremony is expected to draw state representatives, civic leaders, trustees, major donors, board members, officers and executives from Southern Utah University, the Utah Shakespeare Festival and the Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA). In addition, the event features SUU presidents past and present, performing and visual artists, and a special presentation that celebrates this unique center for the arts.

“This $30 million project, the largest in our university’s history, will help us increase the cultural service that has become a hallmark of Southern Utah University,” said SUU President Scott Wyatt. “We couldn’t be more grateful to all of the friends of the University and the Festival who have helped make this incredible project possible.”

The Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts is expected to begin rising on the SUU campus summer 2014. This is in large measure thanks to the generosity of the Sorenson Legacy Foundation and the late Mrs. Sorenson, a visionary and singular friend of education and arts education for children in particular. The Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts will serve as the home to the new Shakespeare Theatre and a new studio theatre for the Utah Shakespeare Festival, an artistic/production building for the Festival, and the Southern Utah Museum of Art. The Center also features sculpture gardens and other outdoor features on the grounds.

Save the date for what promises to be a milestone in the rich cultural heritage of southern Utah.