UNCSA celebrates opening of new residence hall with time capsule, commemorates Bailey Street community

UNCSA has opened its first newly constructed residence hall on campus in 50 years. Named Artist Village in a nod to its residents and the sense of community it was built to create, the new hall is a modern facility that will invigorate the residential environment for current and future students. 

To commemorate the new residence hall, which welcomed new residents in January 2022, students, faculty, staff and leadership buried a time capsule in front of the hall on Friday, April 8. The time capsule included a collection of artifacts, memorabilia and news reflecting the 2021-22 academic year, and is to to be unearthed on the 100th anniversary of UNCSA.

The event also acknowledged and honored the Bailey Street community that once lived in the area, and which was demolished to make way for an expansion of the UNCSA campus in the 1970s. Students studied the history of this community and its impact on Winston-Salem as part of a course called Winston-Salem Stories in the fall semester and were challenged to develop original projects in reflection. Members of the Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church, formerly located in the Bailey Street neighborhood, participated in Friday’s events.

In his remarks, Chancellor Brian Cole said, “It’s hard to imagine what will change over the next 43 years. How much will change in the arts industry, and, in response, how much will change here at UNCSA? I know our five-year strategic plan, UNCSA Forward, will put us on a great path toward that future.”

Mike Wakeford, associate professor of history and humanities in the Division of Liberal Arts, spoke about the work to explore the history of the Bailey Street community. He said, “In this era, when our campus and our whole community has committed itself to an essential self-reckoning around issues of diversity and inclusion, a process that sometimes requires unearthing complicated parts of the past, these questions seemed important to us. We are honored that a few artifacts of last semester’s experience are included in this time capsule, representing that in this academic year of 2021-2022, a celebrated step into the future with our new residence hall helped lead to a very special communion with our past and initiated a process of discovery that will now continue.”

Artist Village is a community-focused living space designed specifically for student-artists, offering the privacy of suite-style living with two double or single rooms and in-suite bathrooms. At five stories high — the tallest building on campus, with a view of downtown — the hall incorporates two wings connected by a glass bridge. It accommodates approximately 450 students.  

Modern amenities of the hall include lounges and study areas on every floor, community kitchens, and multiple gaming areas. Also on-site is a central laundry facility and an Aramark Provisions on Demand (POD) store.  

“The new residence is meant to be a welcoming and inviting place where students can study, socialize and relax, conveniently located next to their academic classes and arts studios,” said Vice Provost and Dean of Student Affairs Tracey Ford. UNCSA requires all first- and second-year college students to live on campus.

UNCSA identified a new residence hall for college students as a priority in its Strategic Action Plan in 2015 and its Campus Master Plan, approved in 2017. Following the demolition of Bailey Street Apartments, built in 1984, construction of the new residence hall officially got underway on that site in summer 2020.  

The new residence hall was designed by LS3P, which has offices in North and South Carolina and Georgia. The construction manager was Metcon, a Native American-owned business (Lumbee) founded in 1999 in Pembroke.

Following are highlights of the more than 50 items included in the time capsule:

• Personal reflections by students on the work in Wakeford’s class on the Bailey Street neighborhood.
• A souvenir pen from Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church.
• A photo of the cornerstone from the brick church that once stood on-site and one of the church itself.
• A COVID-19 mask, a test kit, and signage related to the pandemic.
• Magazine tear-sheets of conservatory industry rankings.
• A program from a recent UNCSA Symphony Orchestra concert where “Prayer for Ukraine” was played as a tribute to the people of Ukraine.
• The screenplay for the fourth-year film “Sammy without Strings.”
• Posters from the student-led drama program “Keys to the Kingdom.”
• Flesh-toned masks used in dance performances.
• Ticket stubs from our first full year of in-person performances since the start of the pandemic.

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