(Eds Note: At this moment, the basement of Bellarmine Hall is still just a basement. But in a few months, it will turn from an empty space into Bellarmine Museum, “a laboratory for learning,” according to Museum Director Dr. Jill Deupi. Deupi recently gave Mirror reporter Renee Borghesi an insider’s tour of the progress. Here’s Renee’s first person report.)
As we walked in through the side entrance of Bellarmine Hall, the gorgeous 1920s mansion that now houses the offices of University President Jeffrey von Arx, we peered into the hallway filled with construction equipment and wires. It was difficult to envision the messy hallway during into a beautiful linoleum floor.
Down the hall is a mess of ladders, hanging wires, and tools on a table in the middle of the room, surrounded by paint cans piled on the floor. This room, Deupi said, will be a classroom tentatively called the smART classroom. It will hold about thirty students taking Art History and survey courses. It will also be used to hold K-12 programs of youngsters from Bridgeport.
Outside the room are huge squares off different colors to sample what the walls will be painted are splashed on the wall. A nice ivory color will be used in the Main Gallery and white for the offices, but they will be mixed with one red wall to make things more interesting, Deupi said.
On the way to the Main Gallery, we pass the multipurpose room that will house the museum Registrar, work-study students, interns, and be used as storage and prep areas. The layout also includes a director’s office with display cases outside of the room. “In the future we hope to have things for sale…things to promote the mission,” said Deupi.
Carefully maneuvering the way around a man stilts painting the ceiling and trying to avoid the ladder, we step our way into what will be the Main Gallery. For now, it is a huge empty space littered with wood, drills, and rope. The main gallery is being constructed under what is called a “Latin cross” plan, Deupi shouted over the noise of the machines. There is one long aisle and the arms intersect high up.
The temporary exhibition is based in the four interlocking walls in the central crossing of the museum’s Main Gallery. All faculty, staff, departments, students, and alumni of Fairfield University are eligible to have their works shown. It will also be a place to show works on paper and paintings.
Exhibits include 10 paintings form the Italian Renaissance and Baroque periods, 20 Celtic and Medieval art pieces, and a Plaster Cast Collection. There are eight new casts molded specifically for the Bellarmine museum, said Deupi. About twenty pieces form the Celtic era are on loan from the MET for two to four years.
Looking around the 2,710 square foot space and watching the men from Centerbrook Architects at work, it is exciting to imagine the pieces of work that will soon decorate the bottom floor of Bellarmine. “Our architects are very detailed and have a long history of doing museums,” said Deupi.
The main gallery will have wooden floors. There will be glass doors so you can see into the other exhibits. To help the senior citizens and handicapped, there will be an elevator and side entrance for the handicapped.
The planning of the museum began between 2004 and 2006 and was the “brainchild of Dr. [Jesus] Escobar”, the original museum director. Construction began mid August and is expected to be completed in May. The Bellarmine Museum is scheduled to open on October 7.
This is one of the construction plans of the University’s that I can get behind and support. As a senior I regret not being able benefit from a beautiful on-campus museum. The museum will add to the culture and appreciation of the arts on campus, and I only hope that the surrounding community advantage of having something so important so close.
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