Notre Dame Center for Arts and Culture (NDCAC)
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Our Story:
Located within the West Washington National Historic Register District, the Center was built in 1925 as the Children’s Dispensary, where free and reduced medical care was available to families without financial resources. It was later named after the Dispensary’s founder, Dr. Charles Hansel. The facility has also served as a neighborhood center and as the administrative offices for Head Start. The building contains more than 10,000 square feet of space on two floors and nearly 4,000 square feet in the basement.
The newly christened Notre Dame Center for Arts and Culture now houses the Crossroads Gallery, Segura Arts Studio, the University's Office of Community Relations, and Educational Programming.
University's Office of Community Relations:
We currently live in a world where technology has made the world a smaller place, with each of us having three degrees of separation. Human interaction and the understanding of art and cultural differences is lacking.
The Global Experience provides an opportunity for people to actively participate in learning about other cultures. That exposure helps to eliminate the fear we often experience with things that are foreign and helps us appreciate and enjoy the cultural differences that make this world an interesting place.
We strive to educate students and community members on the rich cultural diversity and history of our world. We collaborate across the Notre Dame disciplines, with our peers in higher education, and with the community at large to develop programming which complements classroom experiences.
Our overarching goal is to cultivate audiences for cultural events both on and off-campus throughout the Michiana community. We want to celebrate as a community, strengthening our relationships and in the process bring the world to South Bend and change the community one heart at a time.
Crossroads Gallery for Contemporary Art:
The Crossroads Gallery for Contemporary Art provides opportunities for viewers to reflect, enjoy, and to learn through the visual arts. Our hope is that they will gain new experiences from the presentations, creativity and the aesthetics of new visual expression accompanied by related, community educational programming.
In 1981 Joe Segura founded the Segura Publishing Company in Tempe, Arizona to produce the works of underrepresented artists, with a particular interest in Hispanic art. The company has since become known for its promotion of minority artists, exploration of photographic techniques and an outstanding collaborative environment. Over its 30 year history, and with the leadership of Joe Segura and his team, the Segura Publishing company has collaborated with many artists and produced numerous pieces of art. The company has had a profound impact on the art community by both offering the opportunities to produce works to underrepresented populations and by promoting their works and pushing them into the mainstream art community.
The acquisition of the Segura Publishing Company by the University of Notre Dame in 2012 allows Joe Segura and the studio to continue its mission of producing and making accessible significant fine art and give the University an opportunity to secure a foothold on the opportunities offered to underrepresented artists.
The Notre Dame Center for Arts & Culture (NDCAC) seeks to provide unique educational programs on South Bend’s West Side that combine one-on-one relationships, arts experiences and life-long learning in a comfortable environment.
The NDCAC believes that all people can be life-long learners, and will provide engaging and relevant educational opportunities through Notre Dame and community partners. The Center boasts a technology lab with state-of-the-art equipment, as well as flexible learning spaces suitable for adults or children. Whatever your age, you are invited to join us in this new learning community. Please check out opportunities for your age group by clicking on a link under Class Schedule.
