Steppenwolf Theatre Company announced the name of its trailblazing new 50,000 square foot theater building and education center: the Liz and Eric Lefkofsky Arts and Education Center. Designed by world-renowned architect Gordon Gill FAIA of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, with theater design and acoustics by Charcoalblue and construction by Norcon, the expanded Steppenwolf campus is a cultural nexus for Chicago—offering bold and ambitious opportunities for creative expression, social exchange, unparalleled accessibility, and arts-driven learning for Chicago youth in The Loft, Steppenwolf’s first-ever dedicated education space. Opening to the public next month, the Liz and Eric Lefkofsky Arts and Education Center is the largest new permanent cultural asset to open in the City of Chicago in 2021. The $54 million new building is part of Steppenwolf’s multi-phase $73 million Building on Excellence expansion campaign, which has raised $56.1 million to date, thanks to robust civic support from individual donors, foundations, corporations and government funding.
At the heart of Steppenwolf’s new Liz and Eric Lefkofsky Arts and Education Center is an intimate and state-of-the-art 400-seat theater in the round, one of its kind in Chicago, with theater design and acoustics by Charcoalblue. The Liz and Eric Lefkofsky Arts and Education Center is also home to Steppenwolf’s first-ever dedicated education center, The Loft, encompassing the entire fourth floor of the new building. Steppenwolf was founded more than 45 years ago by a circle of students who craved a space to call their own. The Liz and Eric Lefkofsky Arts and Education Center continues and amplifies that vision, growing the reach of Steppenwolf’s education programming from 20,000 to 30,000 students annually. The Loft includes three dedicated learning spaces for young people to explore and create within, as well as gallery walls that will feature works by young visual artists selected via Steppenwolf’s Loft Teen Arts Project. For more information on The Loft and the Loft Teen Arts Project, visit www.steppenwolf.org/loft.
