Workshops
Broadbent Gallery | Judy Levin, Curator
Magical Designs for Mozart's Magic Flute is an exhibition conceived and curated by distinguished theatrical and opera designer Judy Levin to compare scenic and costume designs of this much loved opera. These selected productions, extolled for their remarkable visual achievements, speak to the many interpretations given to the opera by scholars over the years, as well as the role of the creative teams in shaping each production.
Since it premiered in 1791, The Magic Flute has inspired countless teams of directors and designers to create imaginative productions beguiling audiences of all ages. It is the tale of Prince Tamino and his efforts to rescue Pamina, the abducted daughter of the Queen of the Night. He is armed with a magic flute given to him by the Three Ladies: accompanied by the Queen's bird-catcher, Papageno, who was given silver bells; guided by Three Boys. Tamino finds Pamina, and after enduring tests and trials, finds enlightenment. The struggle between the dark forces of the Queen of the Night and those of the victorious Sarastro, the high priest of Isis and Osiris, who represents the forces of light, leads to the triumph of reason and virtue. The action of the opera, set to Mozart's sublime music, has delighted audiences worldwide for over two centuries.
The exhibition explores the design concepts of eighteen different productions to the opera, and groups them in the gallery according to the general approach of each production team.
Visit the Exhibition Website
Media Sponsors: WCLV Classical 104.9 Ideastream and Cleveland Magazine
Organized by the Kent State University Museum in partnership with the New York Library for the Performing Arts
2016 @ Infinitum (Create + Lead + Learn) Exhibition opens at Sichuan
This exchange exhibition showcases works of 18 faculty members from Kent State University, joined by works of 18 faculty members from Sichuan University. The exhibition uses Quick Response Codes to honor unique individual and cultural stories by giving special attention to each artist's portfolio. From late March through April 2016 the exhibition is opened to the Chinese public at the Sichuan University Art Gallery in Chengdu, China.
At the opening reception on Friday 25 March at 3 p.m., Associate Director of KSU Beijing, Mr. David Wei was joined by the Associate Dean, Mr. He Yu of SCU Arts College as the guests of honor. In their speeches, both recognized that this exchange exhibit has served as a wonderful opportunity to foster greater mutual trust and intensified understanding among faculty members from both cultures. The exhibit has traveled from the KSU Museum to Sichuan; prior to this, it was installed in the Stager and Blum Galleries for six month from June 2015 to January 2016. This project has received generous support from the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, Kent State University Research Council, and the AY 2013/14 Catalyst Project grant from KSU College of the Arts.
Among those present at the opening were a group of KSU students who had arrived at Chengdu that morning after traveling Xi’an and Beijing for a week. This event was part of the KSU School of Art 2016 Travel-Study to China Program led by Professor Jack McWhorter and Dr. Koon-Hwee Kan. For the entire day of 25 March, the KSU students interacted with their SCU team members, with whom they have engaged in a lively conversation for more than a month prior to their trip via email. During their face-to-face interactions they continued the discussion as a team while at the group gathering time, students from both universities presented their I SEE YOU 2.0 Project. These students will be holding their own exhibition to showcase their collaborative art and research projects in late April at the lobby gallery of KSU Fine Arts building at Stark.
Higbee Gallery | Sara Hume, Curator
The exhibition, Fashions of Southern Africa, brings together the work of fashion designers currently active in South Africa and Namibia to showcase the ways that people in southern Africa dress, make clothes and think about fashion. The exhibition looks beyond a simple binary between “western fashion” and traditional African dress to see that there is original distinctive fashion in Africa.
News coverage concerning Africa often focuses on the challenges the continent faces with poverty, disease and war. Far less attention is paid to the fact that Africa boasts the fastest growing middle class in the world. With this increasing spending power, sectors such as the fashion industry have the potential to see enormous growth in the years to come. This exhibition brings together established designers and many emerging young designers who represent the region’s future. Fashion is no longer directly dictated out of Paris, New York and London. These brilliant African designers bring fresh perspectives on style and fashion.
The exhibition includes pieces from more than a dozen designers from South Africa and Namibia. The list of South African designers includes established names such as Marianne Fassler as well as young designers including Laduma Ngxokolo and Rich Mnisi. The exhibition includes not just clothing but also accessories such as shoes by Maria McCloy and jewelry by Pichulik.
The fashion industry in Namibia is less developed than that of neighboring South Africa. To compete against the dominance of global fashion brands, talented designers in Namibia such as Maria Caley and Quin-Leigh Hammond draw from elements of traditional Namibian culture in their designs. The exhibition also features clothes from My Republik, an emerging brand which currently has two stores in Namibia and is poised to open more, including in neighboring countries, Botswana and Zambia.
The funding for the project came in part from the Catalyst Interdisciplinary Project Grant from the College of the Arts. The exhibition is part of a larger series of events in partnership with the Department of Pan-African Studies and the Fashion School.
Visit the Exhibition Website
Stager/Blum Galleries | Tameka Ellington, PhD and Stacey Lim, Au.D., PhD, Co-Curators
(dis)ABLED BEAUTY: the evolution of beauty, disability and ability is a celebration of highly designed assistive devices, adaptive devices, and apparel for those living with disabilities. Historically, people with disabilities have not always been held in the same esteem as able-bodied persons regarding level of beauty, intelligence and ability. Thus, many needing assistive devices would hide their disabilities in order to avoid the negative stigmatization that accompanied the concept. Our former President, Franklin D. Roosevelt concealing his disability is an excellent example of this.
This exhibition featuring more than forty items including prostheses, hearing devices, and mobility devices aims to change the negative stigma associated with disability. The items featured in this exhibition are not for concealing, but rather, they were designed to be seen and shown off. These devices make their wearer fashionable, able and to some degree... superhuman. After experiencing (dis)ABLED BEAUTY, maybe we will all believe that "disability is not a brave struggle or 'courage in the face of adversity.' Disability is an art. It's an ingenious way to live." - Neil Marcus
//benitez_vogl {skin}-D.E.E.P. and VS:0.02 [gridiron] will be showing at KSU's Downtown Gallery (141 E. Main St. in Kent, Ohio) from September 1 - 24, 2016. The opening reception in on Thursday September 1 from 5-7 pm.
These two projects were created by Margarita Benitez and Markus Vogl. Benitez is the Fashion Technologist and an Associate Professor at The Fashion School at Kent State University and Vogl is an Associate Professor in Art at The University of Akron. Their current research explores 3D printing and transformation of the human form through concepts of biomimicry, interactive sound and visual installations, open source tools for artists and material explorations for fused filament fabrication.
Gallery Hours:
Mon-Wed 9:30-6 PM - Thurs. 9:30-8 PM - Fri. 9:30 - 7 PM - Sat. 10-4 PM - Sun. 12-5 PM
School of Art Friday Lecture Series
Nina Holzweg & Suntje Sagerer, Zygote Press visiting artists from Dresden, Germany, will present a lecture on their work. The event is FREE and open to the public and will take place in CVA Lecture Hall 165 on Friday, Sept. 16 at noon. The Center for the Visual arts is located at 325 Terrace Dr. in Kent, Ohio.
Join us for our Homecoming celebration on Oct. 1, 2016 from 12-3 pm at the Center for the Visual Arts! Art demonstrations, tours and raffles are just a few of the great activities that you can participate in. See student work on display throughout the building and even purchase art to take home.
Tours times: 12:00 pm, 12:45 pm, 1:30 pm
Get to know the new Center for the Visual Arts building with one of our student tour guides!
Student Clubs:
You can buy student work! Textiles Art Club, Ceramics Club, Jewelry/Metals Co-op and the United Print Alliance will be selling their work throughout the building. KSU Art Club will be creating a collaborative drawing.
The CVA Gallery will be open for the event with Dexter Davis: A Portrait.
Art Raffle:
Visit print media in room 301 for a chance to win an artwork donated by faculty! Winners will be drawn at 3 pm.
Demos throughout the building including jewelry/metals, printmaking, textiles techniques, ceramics and more!
CVA is located at 325 Terrace Dr. and is stop #2 on Lolly the Trolley.
The Kent State School of Art Collection and Galleries’ Downtown Gallery presents the National Collage Society’s 32nd Annual Juried Exhibition, September 29 - October 29, 2016 with an opening reception on Thursday, September 29th, from 5 to 7 p.m. Both the exhibit and reception are free and open to the public.
The artists featured in this exhibit were chosen from a pool of 383 entries from 40 states and 5 countries. There were 56 pieces accepted by the jury.
About the jurors:
Martin Ball, Studied at Loughborough College of Art, Central School of Art & Design, London and the Royal College of Art, London.
Associate Professor of Painting at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio
Carolyn Grosch, M.A. Art History & Museum Studies, Tufts University
B.A. Art History, Carleton College,
Associate Curator, Asheville Art Museum, Asheville, North Carolina
Miles Conrad, BFA Studio Art- California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA, MFA- San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
Director, Conrad Wilde Gallery, Tucson, AZ
The goal of the National Collage Society is to foster the appreciation and interest in the recognized medium of collage. Collage has only been identified and defined during the twentieth century. The NCS, Inc. advances the stature of collage as a major art medium and assists in the public education through exhibits and workshops, lectures and publications
The School of Art Collection is the home of the The National Collage Society’s Teaching Collection.
The Downtown Gallery is located at 141 E. Main St. in Kent, Ohio. Gallery hours are Monday - Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Thursday 9:30 a.m. - 8 p.m.; Friday 9:30 a.m. - 7 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.; and Sunday noon - 5 p.m.
Broadbent Gallery | Jean Druesedow, Director
"The 1980s: an Age of Excess" will highlight the sparkle and glamour of the 20th century's ninth decade. Designer gowns and elegant street wear from Europe and America — including among others Yves Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Ungaro, Chanel and Christian LaCroix, Bill Blass, Oscar de la Renta, Patrick Kelly, Donna Karan, and Pauline Trigere — will be featured. Co-curated by Museum Director Jean Druesedow and Victoria Haworth, a senior fashion merchandising student at Kent State's Fashion School.
The 1940s was a tumultuous period in history and the fashions of the time reflected the upheaval. World War II led to restrictions on what Americans and Europeans could wear because of rationing for civilian populations and uniforms for those who enlisted. The end of the war brought new freedoms. Christian Dior’s groundbreaking 1947 collection was known as the ‘New Look’ which came to refer more generally to the fuller skirts and hourglass silhouettes that predicted the styles of the 1950s.
The 1940s represented the moment when American designers first began to break free of rigidly following European fashion. Among the innovative American designers and name brands in the exhibition are Adrian, Hattie Carnegie, Sophie Gimbel, Charles James, Claire McCardell, and Valentina. This exhibition showcases a variety of different looks that typified the whole span of the 1940s including uniforms, suits, underwear, outerwear, swimwear, and even glamorous evening dresses.
Videos featuring a virtual tour of the exhibition are available on the Museum's YouTube channel.
