“The story of Africana studies at Brown is, first and foremost, the story of Rites and Reason, because that came before the department,” Rooks said. “The work of Rites and Reason is so interwoven into our scholarship that we think of ourselves as an art department.”
In addition to costume and prop rooms, Churchill House’s lower level now also boasts a 30-person classroom with a range of technology capabilities, fully accessible bathrooms, and a foyer where visitors can view photos and memorabilia that pay homage to the history of Churchill House and Africana studies at Brown.
The east side of the building, meanwhile, has a three-story glass addition that was created with the department’s growing ranks of faculty in mind. The space is home to new offices and a faculty library and lounge filled with rare books, journals and other volumes once stored in a conference room.
Rooks said several more new spaces throughout Churchill House are a nod to graduate students, who once had little room beyond a small handful of offices and a basement lounge. A new shared space on the main floor for graduate students includes tables, couches and space for lunchtime gatherings, quiet study time and impromptu meetings. Private rooms allow graduate instructors to meet on-on-one with the undergraduates they teach and mentor. They can also reserve a small conference room with state-of-the-art audio-visual capabilities on the lower level for meetings and class sections.
The building’s west side is now its main entrance — a change designed to enable awareness and increase use of the building, said Joanna Saltonstall, a senior program manager in Facilities Management. A wheelchair ramp from Angell Street leads not only to Churchill House’s new automatic doors but also to a furnished, sun-drenched terrace that overlooks The Walk.
“Even outside the building, the renovations honor the department’s overarching goal to become a go-to gathering place for faculty, concentrators and the broader campus community,” Saltonstall said. “The terrace is another collaborative space that presents infinite possibilities: It can be used as a space to relax between classes, to host receptions or even to give performances.”
Rooks said that last year, as news spread of the plans for Churchill House, her inbox overflowed with ideas for collaborative projects, cross-disciplinary courses and original productions that could take place in the building’s new and improved spaces. She didn’t find the deluge overwhelming so much as exhilarating.
From theater productions and a visiting writers series, to artmaking and nascent projects like creating an arts-based summer camp for Providence kids, Rooks and her colleagues anticipate a broad swath of interest and possibility in the department’s newly renovated spaces.
“There’s so much artistry baked in at Brown that almost every student’s primary language is artistic, even if they came to Brown to study computer science or engineering,” Rooks said. “By offering these courses and events that encourage creative thought, we’re sending the message that every student, every discipline, every background is welcome at Churchill House.”
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