Allan Hancock College’s CTE liaison and graphic design professor Nancy Jo Ward calls the fine arts and career education programs on campus “the biggest little secret” in the Santa Maria Valley. That’s all about to change with the 2022 opening of a new, $48-million Fine Arts Complex that will consolidate all of Allan Hancock College’s fine arts and performing arts programs under one roof.
“This will be the largest building on our campus and perhaps the most beautiful building in the entire valley,” said Ward of the 88,000-square-foot architectural gem that includes a 400-seat performance space and music lab, recording studios, painting studios, graphic design studios, a film classroom and screening space, photography labs, a digital media center, and more.
It’s an investment that will pay profound dividends.
Allan Hancock College’s Media Arts Program offers degrees and certificates in Animation and Game Art, Film and Video, Graphic Design, Multimedia, Photography, Sound Technology, Web Design, and Drama. Allan Hancock College alumni are flourishing as photographers, digital designers, filmmakers, animators, sound technicians, graphic designers, production specialists, and more. They are employed at places such as LinkedIn, HBO, KSBY TV, ProCore, Kraftwerk Design, the Santa Maria Times, and at Allan Hancock College. Annual regional wages range from more than $50,000 for photographers, camera operators, and audio and video technicians to nearly $63,000 for sound engineering technicians. Web developers and designers can earn more than $67,000.
The nonprofit arts and culture industry in Santa Barbara County generates more than $198 million in total economic activity, enough to sustain 5,857 jobs, according to an Arts & Economic Prosperity report.
“This is a strong, viable program that is filling needed jobs in the region,” said Ward.
Making digital and media arts more visible through an iconic campus building, Ward said, will result in greater awareness about the possibilities in the field.
Construction of the Fine Arts Complex, which began September 30, 2020, is being financed through a combination of funds from the state of California, the Measure I Bond, and a $10 million gift from former Allan Hancock College piano instructor Patricia Boyd, for whom a recital hall in the complex will be named.
“This has been a long time coming and it’s going to be a tremendous asset for the college and the community,” said Kevin Walthers, Allan Hancock College Superintendent/President.
“This new facility will deliver inspired arts education for Allan Hancock College and the Central Coast community for generations to come,” said Leigh Anne Jones of the DLR Group, the architectural firm designing the project. “The vibrant presence of the arts fosters a sense of arrival to the campus, and allows the new fine arts building to serve as the dynamic hub of campus.”
Said Ward: “Having a facility like this is critical to the college and to the community. Our Fine Arts programs are spread across several buildings, which has not been conducive to faculty working collaboratively. The arts really are interrelated, media arts especially, including web design, photography, animation, and graphic design. Music students really need to have skills in sound technology and video editing. Students in career education and the fine arts have to have skills in various areas to advance their careers and being together instead of all over campus provides greater opportunity to learning.”
