Q&A: Chuck Swanson on the new Hancher

IOWA CITY — Chuck Swanson of Coralville, has been executive director of Hancher since 2002. He joined the University of Iowa's arts venue staff in 1985, first as business director, then became associate director in 1987.

The new building, with a $133 million construction budget, will open in September. A ribbon-cutting Sept. 9 kicks off public tours Sept. 9 and 11, followed by a free outdoor concert Sept. 16 and the opening gala Sept. 24.

Swanson expects to announce the inaugural season April 25.

'People have been waiting a long time for this,' he said. 'Anticipation has been growing, and I honestly believe that the season will live up to everybody's expectations.'

What is the status of the new building? What's left to complete?

Everything is on schedule, although I know that there's still plenty of work to be done. The staff gets the keys on June 1, and that gives us the opportunity to play with the building, for us to really understand and have some time to get a feel for the building.

Believe it or not, there have been over 900,000 hours of work done on the building. I think that's pretty incredible. It's about 90 percent complete.

About 2,500 different workers have left their mark on that building — I think that says a lot. At this point, there's a lot of detail work. ...

There's a lot of choreographing going on in order to get all the work done. The ceiling people can't be in the way of the floor people, so everything has to be very carefully scheduled.

You've often referred to Hancher as the University of Iowa's largest classroom. How so?

I feel like our connection with faculty all across campus has really grown, due to our commitment of enriching the educational experience of students at the University of Iowa ...

But even deeper than that — for sure performing arts, but we've done great projects with the College of Law, the College of Business, really all academic areas of the university. But also, I feel like our k-through-12th grade efforts, not only in our community and region, but statewide — and we believe in lifelong learning of the arts, so really people of all ages.

We book artists that are not only world-class in what they do onstage, but also artists who connect well in communities and artists that really know the importance of using the arts as a way for people to learn about the world.

What role do you see the new building playing in the community/region?

I always have felt that Hancher's been a community resource, even in the original building. But I honestly believe that the new Hancher will be even more in demand than what the original Hancher was.

I want it to be for everyone. I want it to be seen as a gathering place, a destination, I want people to think about Hancher as a place to go not just for Hancher performances.

Our region has missed a venue like Hancher. Our university has missed a venue like Hancher ...

for weddings, meetings and conferences. It's there to create memories. It's there to create experiences.

What lessons have you taken from the flood and applied to the new facility in its scope, design and purpose?

No. 1, of course, we're on much higher ground. The location of the building, we're safe from future floods, and along with that is the positioning of the building.

The views are going to be to die for — that was never true in the original building. They really thought this through. They really figured out that this is where it belongs. This is the perfect spot for it.

The staff played a major role in using their insight into what's been part of their life from the last 40 years. That really helped to shape the design of the new building.

Another thing, we've been working with one of finest teams that one could put together. We make great choices in terms of people. You get the right team of people together, and they can make some great things happen.