• Rich Barlow

    Senior Writer

    Photo: Headshot of Rich Barlow, an older white man with dark grey hair and wearing a grey shirt and grey-blue blazer, smiles and poses in front of a dark grey backdrop.

    Rich Barlow is a senior writer at BU Today and Bostonia magazine. Perhaps the only native of Trenton, N.J., who will volunteer his birthplace without police interrogation, he graduated from Dartmouth College, spent 20 years as a small-town newspaper reporter, and is a former Boston Globe religion columnist, book reviewer, and occasional op-ed contributor. Profile

Comments & Discussion

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There are 14 comments on Expanding Howard Thurman Center to Move to 808 Comm Ave

  1. This is wonderful news! The HTC is one of my favorite places on campus. Thank you BU for making common ground and sharing of cultures and identities a priority!

  2. This seems like a step in the right direction. My main hope is that in the renovation process, there is an architect with some experience in acoustics! The current space is so reverberant that it is almost impossible to have simultaneous conversations about anything! Whenever this is pointed out, one invariably gets told that little can be done with the space since it is a historic site and registered as such. Hopefully we can some real conversations when the renovations are complete!

        1. ” The current space is so reverberant that it is almost impossible to have simultaneous conversations about anything! Whenever this is pointed out, one invariably gets told that little can be done with the space since it is a historic site and registered as such”

  3. Are there any plans for that gallery space to be relocated? The 808 gallery is a huge part of the visual arts curriculum and thesis exhibition for undergrads and grads across majors. I’m all for the HTC’s expansion (it’s about time) but does this mean that SVA is getting sidelined?

  4. I hope they leave the first floor for the CFA gallery. The first is a large space that can be used for a variety of things such as lectures and large functions when the gallery not in use.

  5. Great news! I’m pleased to see a more visible space for the Howard Thurman Center, it’s currently one of BU’s hidden gems. I hope that the generous gallery space can be reconfigured to feel comfortable, welcoming, and inspiring.

  6. While this sounds like a wonderful addition to the campus, I worry that overtaking two thirds of the gallery space is going to negatively impact CFA, a school that deserves the space to grow and make an impact of its own. I am hopeful that other plans are in place to expand the gallery footprint that students within CFA deserve.

  7. The most striking thing about the article is what’s not discussed! There’s no mention of any conversations with the BU visual arts community. Most higher ed institutions could only dream of having such huge, high-ceiled spaces for contemporary art, which really needs them (look at Mass MOCA in North Adams). Compare the 808 Gallery with the cramped venues of Harvard’s Carpenter Center, for example. Ironic that BU is investing so much to build a theater next door and now wants to reduce the gallery space by 2/3.

  8. The 808 gallery is such a great and visible for student art on campus. Not to mention, the architecture of the room is beautiful. Can’t someone other space be found?

  9. Along with the other commenters concerned about SVA students losing one of few spaces they have on campus, I would urge a serious reconsideration on this matter. The 808 space provides visibility for BU’s vibrant arts community and a space for students to display their works to the rest of BU and the greater Boston community, an integral part of their expression and development while at BU’s SVA. The HTC is a fantastic place that serves as a place for other students’ expression as well, and in definite need for more space to better accommodate it. However, does it need this particular space? In the same manner of SVA students do? No. BU’s intentions are noble here but by better empowering one group of students, you’re diminishing the presence of another group already underrepresented on campus.

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