Last week, the Genesee Community College Board of Trustees approved $852,900 in contracts for the construction of a new art gallery at the Batavia campus, subject to review and approval by the architects for the project.
Low bidders winning the Board's approval were: Steve General Contractor, Inc., of Caledonia -- general construction ($590,000 base bid and $648,000 total bid with allowances); T. Bell Construction Corp., of Rochester -- mechanical ($112,700 base bid and $122,700 total bid with allowances); Thurston Dudek LLC, of Ontario -- plumbing and fire protection ($43,200 base bid and $53,200 total bid with allowances); and Concord Electric Corp., of Rochester -- electrical ($107,000 base bid and $117,000 total bid with allowances).
The art gallery will be located east of the existing Genesee Center for the Arts lobby. The one-story gallery will have about 1,700 square feet of exhibit space, as well as storage and work space.
The gallery will house modular walls which can be used to accommodate a wide variety of exhibits, including visual works, sculpture, ceramics and other media. The gallery will be built with "smart technology," which will make new media and web-based exhibits possible.
The new gallery will be used for student instruction, as well as exhibits of work by students and artists throughout the region. The college has formed a community advisory committee to help develop policies for the new gallery and involve area arts organizations in exhibits.
The art gallery was designed by Joy, McCoola & Zilch, of Glens Falls, award-winning architects for colleges and universities throughout the northeastern United States. The firm also designed the Wolcott J. Humphrey III Student Union and the Conable Technology Building, which won a juried award for excellence from the American Institute of Architects. Target date for completion of the facility is late October.
The new art gallery will add an exciting new dimension to the college and a new opportunity for community outreach, President Stuart Steiner said.
"Throughout the College's history, we have taught the fine arts and exhibited artistic works as best we could," he said. "But our exhibit space has been very limited. A professionally designed gallery, with modern and secure exhibit space, will be a wonderful resource for our students, our region's arts community, and residents of our region."
The gallery is being financed with funding from the State University of New York Construction Fund, and gifts from the Genesee Community College Foundation and Genesee Community College Association.
