The Burgin Center for the Arts, which opened in September 2006, is a remarkable facility devoted to the creation of art in all its forms.
Housed within this 65,500-square-foot building are all the facilities needed to support a dynamic creative life:
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a 600-seat theatre
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a 120-seat studio theatre
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two recital and chorale halls
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theatre support spaces
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digital art lab and digital music lab
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two dance studios
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four art studios, including drawing studio, a painting studio, a sculpture studio and a ceramics studio
- an acting studio and a general arts classroom
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practice rooms and faculty offices
Equally impressive is the center’s exterior. Built into the side of a hill on the Academy's main quadrangle, the facility incorporates natural materials such as wood and Pennsylvania limestone to complement Mercersburg’s surrounding architecture as well as its natural landscape. A floor-to-ceiling glass wall around the main lobby blurs the distinction between indoor and outdoor spaces.
The arts center is named for Barbara and Walter Burgin, Class of '53, who was Mercersburg’s headmaster from 1972 to 1997. The facility was designed by the Polshek Partnership, a national firm with extensive experience in the arts.
