As published September 19, 2007
Dean Poling
The Valdosta Daily Times
Valwood School dedicated its new arts center and performance hall Tuesday afternoon to the "development of the whole student."
(Below, Jimmy Workman directs his 8th grade "bucket band".)
The Godwin Holmes Arts Center and the Rodgers Performance Hall will allow Valwood students the "resources and space to try new things," said David Tyler, director of arts. In developing the whole student, Tyler continued, the center invites students to experiment in theatre, visual arts, and music "without fear of failure."
The dedication marked the official opening of the center, named for Michael and Jayne Godwin and Ryan and Amanda Holmes, and the performance hall, named for Larry and Dawn Rodgers. Students began attending classes in the center at the start of the school year.
Tyler and Valwood Headmaster Cobb Atkinson listed several of the center's attributes during and after Tuesday's dedication ceremony.
Several of the center's rooms are dedicated classrooms. There are classrooms for choral and instrumental music instruction. There is an orchestra room.
Valwood's drama students have moved from their former home in the Valwood lunch room to their own space in the center.
Visual arts students have a larger classroom filled with appropriate tables and equipment. They also have a gallery in the center's lobby to display their works. The gallery will be used to exhibit student works permanently, on a rotating basis, and to show guest artists' works.
The center also includes a new kiln for pottery, a dark room for photography, practice rooms for individual students to rehearse singing or instruments.
The performance hall will serve as a location for Valwood concerts, plays, and other artistic endeavors. Able to seat approximately 450 people, the hall can be used as a meeting place or for banquets. The performance hall is a versatile structure where the stage can be moved to any part of the room. The sound system is wired to be accessible in any corner of the hall or if the theatre program desires to do a show in the round.
Architect Rob Evans of IPG designed the center to be both practical and artistic. He included a curved, brick piano wall as part of the center, inlaid with glass to repeat the notes of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy."
Planning for the center began a few years ago, Atkinson said, with construction starting in August 2006.
The center represents the community's continuing faith in Valwood for nearly 40 years, Atkinson said, and it represents Valwood's continuing faith in the potential of its students.
