FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Minneapolis (February 8, 2006) - Significant positive developments for the Minnesota Shubert Performing Arts and Education Center were unveiled Tuesday evening by Artspace Projects, the Minneapolis nonprofit that is developing the new Center in downtown Minneapolis.

A new design has been created by Miller Dunwiddie Architecture, a Minneapolis firm that specializes in historic preservation projects. It preserves the basic relationship between the Minnesota Shubert Center's two historic buildings - Hennepin Center for the Arts, built in 1888, and the Shubert Theatre, built in 1910 - and links them with a distinctive new Atrium.

Among the Atrium's prominent exterior features will be an angled glass façade framed by buff-colored terracotta that matches the color of the Shubert Theatre's terracotta. The marquee, five feet high and 20 feet long, will consist of two LED screens capable of showing videos of current attractions. Above the marquee will be a two-story stainless steel mesh tower that can be lit either from the inside or with projected images on the outside; at night, it will be a beacon of moving light on Hennepin Avenue.

On the inside, the Atrium will feature a large lobby and audience amenities; a third floor event center capable of hosting a formal dinner for 300; and a glass-walled studio/classroom on the second level that will be visible from the first and third floor lobbies. The studio/classroom will be used for the Minnesota Shubert Center's acclaimed arts education and technology program, noted Center Director Kim Motes.

"We are very excited by the new Miller Dunwiddie design," Motes said. "It beautifully and seamlessly integrates the new Atrium with the historic buildings on either side. Both inside and out, the Atrium is clean and contemporary, yet it looks like a natural extension of the Shubert."

About the Minnesota Shubert Center
The Minnesota Shubert Center (www.minnesotashubert.org) will be a new performing arts center at Sixth Street and Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis. Currently scheduled to open in the Fall of 2008, the Center will be a three-building complex consisting of two historic structures, the 1910 Shubert Theatre and the 1888 Hennepin Center for the Arts, and a new addition that will connect the two older buildings and serve them as a common lobby. Although it will embrace all the performing arts, the Center’s primary points of focus will be dance and music. The Center is a project of Artspace Projects (www.artspaceusa.org), a Minneapolis-based national nonprofit real estate developer whose mission is to create and manage space for artists and arts organizations.

Since 1963, Miller Dunwiddie Architecture (www.millerdunwiddie.com) has been helping clients nationwide shape and preserve the built environment. Today, the firm offers a complete suite of solutions including architecture, historic preservation, interior design, construction services, and design visualization. Miller Dunwiddie’s clients span a wide variety of industries, including transportation, public sector, education, housing, retail/commercial, religion, and healthcare.