With the construction of the new building came facilities for various departments, including new art classrooms. These spaces take the teachers’ needs into consideration and have brought excitement to the department as a result. 

Hope Ferns, the 2D Design teacher, expressed appreciation for the character of the previous 2D Design room while acknowledging its flaws. 

“The [old] room was a little chaotic,” said Ferns. “It was exciting to get into this building and organize it in a different way.”

Coren Rau, the IB Visual Arts and 3D Design teacher, appreciated that the planning of the new school took the art department into consideration. 

“I absolutely feel like the art teachers were really listened to in a lot of ways during the design process,” they said. “They really did create some really amazing spaces.” 

Ferns agreed.

“I think that each year, there is growth in the program, and it takes a lot of student voice and advocacy to really share, because arts are very vulnerable,” they said. “The intentionality that they put into the art spaces was really immaculate.” 

Beth Bundy, the photography and graphic design teacher, also appreciated the new spaces and the “art pod” created by the art classrooms on the sixth floor. She added that although Lincoln is one of several PPS schools with new buildings, it has space for the arts that not every building has. 

“I taught at Franklin for three years before I came to Lincoln, and it was a brand new building, but didn’t have a photography room,” Bundy said. “We were literally rolling the carts with the cameras in them from classroom to classroom.”

Rau is optimistic about the potential opportunities provided by the new spaces. 

“I’m really excited,” they said. “It’s nice that we have this kind of space up here. I’m really looking forward to the community that we can build on this floor and people should come and visit.”