Friday, October 17, 2025 | 4:30–7:00 PM
Toasts & remarks begin at 5:30 PM
Hatton Gallery & Visual Arts Building, CSU
551 W Pitkin St, Fort Collins, CO 80523
Join generations of alumni and faculty, together with current students and colleagues, for an evening of food, music, reflection, and reconnection. The celebration coincides with CSU Homecoming & Family Weekend, with more events happening across campus and at Canvas Stadium. Alumni, students, faculty, and friends of CSU Art & Art History are all warmly welcome.
In The Making: 50 Years in the Visual Arts Building exhibition will be on view in the Hatton Gallery.
Before the construction of the Visual Arts Building, CSU’s art department was scattered across temporary spaces, including the Old Main basement and annex and the Spruce Hall Annex, many of which were considered hazardous. After years of advocacy before the university administration, then-chair Dr. Perry Ragouzis convened a “Citizens Committee,” composed of students and parents, to push for a dedicated facility. When the Visual Arts Building broke ground in 1973, Acting Chair Phil Risbeck addressed the crowd on what was then a turkey farm, marking a transformative moment in the history of visual arts education at CSU and Colorado’s front range. Students began attending classes in the new building in 1975 and have been exploring their creative potential ever since.
Some of you witnessed this transformation firsthand. Many more of you spent formative years in the Visual Arts Building, developing your creative voice, honing your craft, and shaping your identity. From there, you set off to explore the world with the distinct perspective of a creative thinker and maker.
Date/Time
Date(s) - October 17, 2025
4:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Location
Hatton Gallery, Visual Arts Building
Categories
Bookings
Bookings are closed for this event.