Students Preview Skyspace Ahead of Fall Opening

In May Upper School students were among the first to preview the new Skyspace by renowned Quaker artist James Turrell. The Skyspace is the capstone of the Campus Redevelopment Project that came about through the Light the Future Campaign, and will officially open in September. The small circle of supporters, including some from outside the community, share the passionate belief that art has a formative role to play in development and education of young people.

Turrell’s Skyspaces are among his best known works. Visitors enter a chamber and are seated on benches around the perimeter, from which they observe the sky through the sharp edges of an opening in the ceiling. Simultaneously, lights embedded in the walls subtly shift the visitors’ perception of the sky’s color. Currently, there are 86 Skyspaces in public and private venues worldwide, many located within Quaker Meetinghouses. Friends Seminary’s Skyspace is the only one at a K-12 school.

Head of School Bo Lauder comments. “Like the historic 15th Street Meetinghouse, the Skyspace will be a physical manifestation of the spiritual mission of the School and a place where students, faculty, staff and friends can gather for silence, quiet reflection and experience the interplay between external light and their own Inner Light.”

James Turrell, based in Arizona, previously lived in New York City’s Gramercy Park neighborhood and worshiped at the 15th Street Meetinghouse. In 2007 he delivered the School’s annual Peace Week Lecture in the Meetinghouse. In 2014, he donated the design and contributed one piece of art to support the cost of construction. The Skyspace measures 19’ x 22’ x 24’ and is sited on the roof of the Townhouse Building. More information will be available in September.