Three years ago, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker came to Macomb for a long-awaited and much anticipated announcement.
“I am proud to announce an investment of $119 million for a new, best-in-class, Center for Performing arts here at Western Illinois University,” he said to applause from the crowd that gathered for the ground breaking ceremony on the southwest side of campus on Oct. 7, 2022.
Rick Kurasz remembers that bright and sunny early autumn day.
“I was one of the naysayers who thought it would happen, but it would be long after I left campus,” he said. “I still am somewhat shocked.”
The Goldfarb Center for Performing Arts is the first state-funded new facility on the WIU Macomb campus in nearly 40 years.
Kurasz, Interim Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication, said the state’s investment is a show of confidence in WIU and the region.
“To me, it’s a beacon of optimism,” he said.
Kurasz succeeded Billy Clow as the head of COFAC. Clow had been dean for more than a dozen years when he died on April 17, 2025 after a three-year battle with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Clow was a driving force behind the project.
“We can't talk about the Goldfarb Center for Performing Arts without discussing the profound impact of Dean Billy Clow,” said Kurasz.
“He worked obsessively to bring this project to fruition and garnered support from both the WIU and Macomb communities. When we open the space for its inaugural season, it will be a testament to Billy's efforts. It will be a time to celebrate, but marked by his absence.”
Construction timeline, opening date
After being slowed by supply chain delays, substantial completion of the building is expected in February 2026.
Anne Lefter, Director of the GCPA, said they’re working to nail down the opening date.
“We are looking to open in the fall of ‘26, in either late August or early September as everyone comes back to Macomb,” she said.
Lefter said she’s still working to book the opening act and the entire inaugural season of music, theater, dance, and family entertainment.
Lefter said the acoustical engineering firm Kirkegaard has been involved with the design of the building’s Great Hall since the beginning.
“We have adjustable acoustics, acoustic banners, motorized systems that are coming in that are going to make it a beautiful space acoustically. So, both for orchestral/symphonic music and for pop music it’s going to be adjustable to be a really excellent experience,” Lefter said.
The building is named for Al and Elaine Goldfarb after they gave a substantial donation for the project. Al Goldfarb was WIU’s 10th president.
Even with the construction funding from the state, and the Goldfarbs’ donation, the university says it will need “significant philanthropic support” to operate and program the center.
Lefter said donation information can be found on WIU's website.
“No gift is too small,” she said. “We would love any level of support that we can get to bring really excellent live arts to the Macomb community and to the entire region.”
‘An army of community volunteers’
Lefter is the building’s only current employee. She’ll need WIU to come up with others to handle certain assignments, such as running the lights and the sound.
She’s also hoping people in the community will step up to help with other aspects of the operation.
“We would love to have an army of community volunteers who want to get involved at the Goldfarb to support performances, to be involved in our community outreach,” she said.
Lefter said she’s already spoken to “a good number” of community organizations and would love to speak to more.
In addition to the outside acts, Western students will also be using the building. Kurasz said it won’t solve all of the university’s recruiting challenges, though it will help give current and prospective students a brand-new space that they can envision themselves performing in.
But he emphasized the Goldfarb Center is not just for those on Western’s campus.
“One of our main goals is to make sure that this building is embedded as a community space,” Kurasz said.
“This was Billy’s dream to become a center for west central Illinois for the arts. That is still our goal. We will still focus on that. We will bring in acts that appeal to everyone.”
The Goldfarb Center is a huge building. It’s 100, 000 square feet. Its main theater, the Great Hall, will seat around 870. A smaller theater will seat around 200.
Lefter said she can envision the impact the center will have on the region.
“I don’t think there’s a more powerful space for community than a mindful space for the arts, a space that’s purposely built to celebrate what connects us as human beings,” she said.
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