A New View Inside the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry
Repairs and Upgrades Honor the Former Library, while Looking Ahead to the Future
Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry
written by
Harrison Apple
More than a century after the cork floors, hand-carved plaster ceiling, and hardwood cabinets were placed inside the original CFA Library, Dean Mary Ellen Poole and STUDIO Director Nica Ross have invested in its longevity with repairs and upgrades to serve the entire university community through its current life as the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry.
The "STUDIO" as it's known by faculty, students and staff alike, is a landing pad, a venue, an incubator, and a laboratory for atypical trans-disciplinary research springing from the creative minds in the College of Fine Arts. Of all the many things the STUDIO has been and continues to become, it is a home to nurture the nascent and experimental research that changes the world when leaving CMU. STUDIO-supported projects range from the local to the intergalactic in scope, but they all begin in the former library.
“We're celebrating our new season of courses, grants and events with a newly laid floor, reupholstered seating, and light control to help this inspiring environment last another 110 years,” Ross said. “Please visit our website, subscribe to our newsletter, and follow our social channels so you can become part of this exciting transformation.”
featuring the following:
photography by Kelsey Stark
photography by Harrison Apple
