Every Space Is A Working Space

The entire campus--from the buildings to the grounds to the landscape surrounding it--does more than provide a backdrop for the creativity that happens here. In fact, the campus facilitates, informs, and inspires the work of each member of our community. Watch as current students, faculty, and staff share what the spaces at Bennington mean to them and to their work.

First Impressions

This year 219 students took in the Bennington campus for the first time. During Convocation celebrations they shared some of their first impressions of the campus--this is what they said.

Music

Whether it’s being made in the Jennings Music Building or Visual and Performing Arts Center (VAPA), or played in a performance space or in one of the student houses, music permeates every corner of the Bennington campus. It’s no wonder that Late Show with David Letterman, Rolling Stone magazine, NPR, Pitchfork, and Spinner.com are just a few of the news and entertainment outlets that have featured music by Bennington students or alumni in recent years. These are the spaces where some of them got their start.

Science and Mathematics

Most science and math classes are held in the Dickinson Science Building, which is fully equipped with classrooms and labs for astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer science, earth sciences, mathematics, and physics. Among the many pieces of equipment in Dickinson are a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectrometer, ion chromatograph, XY plate reader, and fluorescence research microscope.

Drama

Drama students at Bennington gain experience in all aspects of theater production, and the facilities—housed primarily in the Visual and Performing Arts Center (VAPA)—reflect that. Among VAPA’s drama spaces are two theaters fully equipped for professional productions, a scene shop for constructing sets, and the always-colorful costume shop. Consider yourself invited to come see these spaces for yourself. But in the meantime, here’s a preview.

Visual Arts

When it comes to visual arts facilities, Bennington pretty much has it all. Among the creative spaces in the 120,000-square-foot Visual and Performing Arts Center (VAPA) are labs and studios for ceramics, architecture, woodworking, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, digital arts, and more. The building is open to students 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Dance

Dance students at Bennington create, practice, and perform the majority of their work in the Visual and Performing Arts Center (VAPA), a 120,000-square-foot facility that houses three dance studios and the Martha Hill Dance Theater. Our best advice is to come see it for yourself. But in the mean time, consider this a digital pamphlet: a few snapshots of a building that doesn't sleep.

Seriously. Thank you: The 2010–2011 Bennington Fund

Bennington College students thank the 2,348 donors who participated in the 2010-2011 Bennington Fund Scholarship Challenge.

Center for the Advancement of Public Action

Designed by award-winning architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, the Center for the Advancement of Public Action (CAPA) is a state-of-the-art, green, academic facility that morphs the studio of the artist, the laboratory of a scientist, the workshop of a craftsman, and the think tank of a policy wonk.

Informed by green building principles, CAPA’s exterior is comprised of reclaimed Vermont marble and its heating and cooling system is geothermal.

Davis Alumni House

The Virginia Todahl Davis ‘40 Alumni House is available for use by Bennington College alumni and other College guests throughout the year. Located on campus near the Jennings Music Building and the Deane Carriage Barn, the house is newly renovated, elegantly furnished, and reasonably priced. It was established in 1986 in honor of Virginia Todahl Davis—a member of the Class of 1940 and former trustee.

Kaitee Tredway '11 on Scholarships and the Importance of Story

"There's something that happens at Bennington--almost a kind of magic--that makes you believe you can go out and do anything," says Kaitee Tredway '11. In this video, Kaitee talks about how Bennington has allowed her to pursue the art of storytelling and to realize its potential to create social change. To make a gift to The Bennington Fund Scholarship Challenge and get your gift matched, please go to http://www.bennington.edu/give.aspx.

Cody Sullivan '13 on Scholarships and His Bennington Detour

After high school, Cody Sullivan '13 almost went to the Navy. Hear how his detour to Bennington has made all the difference. To make a gift to the Bennington Fund Scholarship Challenge and get your gift matched, please go to http://www.bennington.edu/give.aspx.

Ella Darham '12 on Snow Science and Scholarships

Ella Darham '12 talks about her passion for snow science, and how a Bennington scholarship has allowed her to pursue that passion. To make a gift to the Bennington Fund Scholarship Challenge and get your gift matched, please go to www.bennington.edu/give.aspx