Community Celebrates Grand Opening of Goldfarb Center, First Performance Held
After years of dreaming, they built it and now the Macomb community can come.
Through thunderous laughs that echoed across the stage to the bittersweet tears in between, the new state-of-the-art facility will bring those near and far to soothe the savage beasts of today through music, art and dance. Western Illinois University held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday to mark the grand opening of the 100,000-square- foot Goldfarb Center for Performing Arts.
WIU President Kristi Mindrup spoke on the decades of dedication required to bring the facility to life, calling the center “the realization of decades of vision, persistence and commitment from our university community.”
Named after WIU President Emeritus Al Goldfarb, the designation carries a resonance far deeper than architectural signage. Goldfarb isn’t just a last name; it is a remembered lineage and legacy.
“I think it’s named after the Goldfarbs. I like to think of it that way,” Goldfarb said. “Actually, when I look at the name, I actually see my father’s name up there. My father was the only survivor of the Holocaust in his family. And so for me, seeing that name goes beyond seeing my name.”
The $119 million venue features an 870-seat Great Hall, a studio theater, classroom space and gallery displays designed to integrate multiple creative disciplines.
Inside the Ken and Lorraine Epperson Gallery, expressive artwork mirrors the movement and energy of the performing arts. Among the highlighted pieces are two oil paintings from the 2000s by artist Joel Smith: “Rush Hour” and “Purc (Visual Jazz),” the latter a gift of Dr. Patricia Hutinger from the Western Illinois University Art Gallery collection.
Smith’s vivid canvases— swirling with dynamic reds, blacks, blues and fluid yellows— act as visual improvisations, harmonizing with the acoustic performances steps away in the auditorium.
The ceremony also honored the late College of Fine Arts and Communication Dean William T. “Billy” Clow, whose advocacy was central to completing the project. A quote from Clow is inscribed within the building: “The Goldfarb Center for Performing Arts is more than just a building. It is our art. It is our learning. It is our soul.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker noted in a statement that the center will keep live arts accessible and affordable for West-Central Illinois, cementing a regional destination for culture and performance.
As the final notes of the opening ceremony faded into the vast auditorium, the true purpose of the building crystallized. For decades, Macomb carried this dream in quiet anticipation; today, it lives in every spotlight that turns on, every paintbrush stroke on display and every young artist who finally steps into a home built just for them. The ribbon may be cut, but the story is only just beginning.
