On Friday, the new version of the legendary performance hall will open its doors to the public after eight long years of discussion, planning, and construction. Beginning with a ribbon-cutting celebration at 3 p.m., the day’s events will also include a formal open house, welcoming the community inside Hancher’s new walls. For those that won’t be able to make the event on Friday — or for those who want to get another look at the space — there will also be a second open house on Sept. 11.
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KCCK - Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Culture Crawl 188 “Now With An Actual Building”
Rob Cline runs down the events of opening celebration of the new Hancher Auditorium, which includes a ribbon cutting and open house Sept. 9 & 11, a free outdoor concert with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Trombone Shorty on Sept. 16, and UI alum David Sanborn in concert Sept. 29.
Corridor Business Journal - Tuesday, September 6, 2016
This year, the university will nearly complete a campus-wide comeback, with the grand opening of the newly-rebuilt Hancher scheduled for Sept. 9 and the new venue’s first marquee acts opening later this month. A new school of music building and a new visual arts building also opened this year, while a new museum of art is tentatively scheduled to open in 2019.
KCRG - Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City is set to open to the public this Friday with a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house.
The Gazette - Sunday, September 4, 2016
The University of Iowa’s largest classroom has created an eight-year learning curve the likes of which no one could have imagined in June 2008.
That’s when raging floodwaters from the Iowa River engulfed Hancher Auditorium, the UI’s premiere performing arts center, sending staff scrambling to find other venues in which to present world-class artists until a new edifice could be financed, designed and built.
The Gazette - Sunday, September 4, 2016
Everybody has a Hancher story. That’s the lesson that’s emerged for Executive Director Chuck Swanson in the wake of the 2008 flood that ruined the original structure and gave rise to the University of Iowa’s new performing arts center.
Iowa Now - Friday, September 2, 2016
As Hancher Auditorium prepares to celebrate its grand opening, Executive Director Chuck Swanson reflects on the past eight years
Storm Lake Pilot Tribune - Thursday, September 1, 2016
The University of Iowa's new state-of-the-art performance space also houses one of the most remarkable pieces of public art anywhere in Iowa.
Long before Hancher Auditorium opened, members of the Art in State Buildings Program met to discuss the types of pieces that made sense for such a grand building.
Des Moines Register - Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Statewide, a huge cultural development is the unveiling of the University of Iowa’s new Hancher Auditorium, set to officially debut on Sept. 9. All $176 million of it. Culinary arts events are being plotted for the venue’s new Stanley Café, comedy legends Steve Martin and Martin Short headline the sold out opening night gala and super-hit musical “The Book of Mormon” will play a limited run in October.
Des Moines Register - Monday, August 29, 2016
It has been more than 2,800 days since the crest of the Iowa City Flood of 2008, when the waters destroyed Hancher Auditorium on the University of Iowa's campus. On Friday, Sept. 9, the space will re-open and celebrate with the official dedication and first of two open houses.