Getting Out of the Habit

Sisters to Leave Grey Nuns Residence in 2012

NewsAdam Kovac — Published October 11, 2011

Fine Arts students will be packing up their dance shoes and theatre props, and moving into the Grey Nuns complex on St. Mathieu St. The only question is when, as the nuns who currently inhabit part of the building will be vacating earlier than expected.

Fine Arts Senator Andy Filipowich gave an update on the project to the first Fine Arts Student Alliance council meeting on Oct. 4, as part of an orientation presentation to the new councillors and executives.

“I had a meeting with the Dean of Fine Arts [Catherine Wild],” he told The Link afterwards. “I asked her about the Fine Arts building that’s been rumoured since who knows when. It is going to be built at Grey Nuns. However, there’s no funding for it right now. It’s not a top priority quite yet. And they’re also waiting for the nuns to move out.”

Concordia acquired the property in 2004 as part of a long-term deal that saw the university establish a students’ residence in 2007. Since then, the school has gradually taken over more and more of the area, with the aim to eventually move all Fine Arts classes into the motherhouse.

According to university spokesperson Chris Mota, the nuns announced last week that they would be moving out of the building entirely in 2012. However, that still leaves the timeline for the next few stages of the transition unclear, as there has yet to be a competition for architectural designs for the renovation and expansion of the complex.

“This is all a very long-term plan, as we were only supposed to acquire the entire site in 2022, but the nuns are leaving early,” said Mota.

“So everything is very temporary until we go through the process. Until we’re in a position to turn that into a home for the faculty of Fine Arts, there will probably be an expansion of the residence. But again, that’s temporary, and when I say temporary, is it three years or five years or 10 years? That’s not clear.”

Filipowich also stressed the long-term nature of the project, noting that even if the funding was found immediately, the first Fine Arts classes would only be moved to Grey Nuns in about five years, with some taking as long as 20 years to move.

Currently, Fine Arts students are spread around the downtown campus. Filipowich did note that the VA Building on Crescent St. and René Lévesque Blvd., which houses visual arts students, is not ideal for their needs. The problems there are part of the reason for the impending move.

“That building was not built to be a visual arts complex, it was built to be a parking garage,” he said.

“To say that the current infrastructure is best suited for visual arts would definitely need a lot of evidence to support. I think they’re doing the best job that they can at the current moment, but there’s definitely issues that go with that building, and the solution to the problem on a long-term basis is them building a new building at Grey Nuns.”

This article originally appeared in Volume 32, Issue 07, published October 11, 2011.