AUBURN — The Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn on Aug. 5 announced the completion of a project to install a new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. The project added both elements to its second-floor gallery and studio classroom, the Schweinfurth Art Center said in a news release. Century Heating + Cooling of DeWitt […]
AUBURN — The Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn on Aug. 5 announced the completion of a project to install a new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system.
The project added both elements to its second-floor gallery and studio classroom, the Schweinfurth Art Center said in a news release.
Century Heating + Cooling of DeWitt handled the work on the HVAC project. It completed that effort on July 30. The project was designed by Taitem Engineering of Ithaca in consultation with InSite Architecture, which has offices in Geneva and in Perry in Wyoming County, per its website.
“This project will enable us to offer more exhibits and classes, since it will allow us to use the second-floor facilities year-round,” Donna Lamb, executive director of the Schweinfurth Art Center, said. “Until now that area had inadequate heating and no air conditioning.”
Planning for the project began in 2017, when the art center’s board of trustees developed a long-term plan for the facility. The trustees chose the HVAC system as their “top priority” — the first of a three-part master plan — because it would allow the art center to expand its offerings.
In 2018, the art center won a $249,616 matching grant from the New York State Council on the Arts through the Regional Economic Development Council, and fundraising began “in earnest,” the art center said. The Schweinfurth also received funding from the Allyn Foundation, Cayuga Community Foundation, Columbian Foundation of Auburn, D.E. French Foundation of Auburn, Fred L. Emerson Foundation of Auburn, John Ben Snow Foundation of Syracuse, Osborne Memorial Association, Schwartz Foundation, and the Stanley W. Metcalf Foundation of Auburn.
Project timeline
The art center originally closed in mid-January for the construction, with plans to reopen in April. But the state-mandated shutdown in March due to COVID-19 placed the work on pause for two months until it restarted in May.
Since construction ended in July, art-center staff have been working to prepare the facility for reopening, including retrofitting the facility to meet pandemic safety protocols issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and New York State Department of Health.
The art-center staff have been cleaning and setting up the gallery and offices, preparing the facility to meet state guidelines, and installing its next exhibition, “Made in NY.”
The art center opened “Made in NY” to exhibiting artists on Aug. 7 and to the general public on Aug. 11. The Schweinfurth says it did not hold an opening reception for the exhibit due to COVID-19 concerns.
The Schweinfurth Art Center is a multi-arts center that opened in 1981 thanks to a bequest from Auburn–born architect Julius Schweinfurth. The art center’s programs include more than a dozen exhibitions each year and educational programs for children and adults, which feature local, national, and international artists.