Year of the Arts: January at a Glance

The first half of the 2011-12 academic year was replete with events celebrating the Year of the Arts at Buffalo State—myriad art exhibits, musical performances, plays, and thought-provoking symposiums.

Although classes don’t resume until January 23, art lovers don’t have to hibernate. Buffalo State will offer arts-related events throughout the month. As part of Winterim, an annual series of workshops geared toward Buffalo State faculty, staff, and their families, participants can learn about art collecting, make origami flowers, and explore art at the Burchfield Penney Art Center. The campus also will host two ArtsExploration plays for children, a performance of music, poetry, and dance, and the annual Interior Design Student Art Show. See the full schedule at www.yearofthearts.com

January 4-18
Theater trip to Rwanda: As part of the Anne Frank Project, theater professor and Anne Frank Project Director Drew Kahn will accompany six Buffalo State students on an educational and artistic trip to Rwanda. They will share a piece of American contemporary theater with students in the Mashirika Theater Company. In turn, Mashirika students will share a theatrical piece that they have prepared. Throughout the subsequent days, Kahn and Hope Azeda, artistic director of Mashirika, will co-direct a performance that fuses both groups and styles together. Also making the trip is Buffalo State alumna Eve Everette and one student each from the University of San Francisco and Columbia College in Chicago.

January 9
Winterim 2012: Collecting Art:Gerald C. Mead Jr., artist and lecturer in the Design Department, will take the mystery out of researching, selecting, and purchasing affordable art by local artists in a presentation held 1:00-3:00 p.m. in Cleveland Hall 418. Mead also will show a selection from his extensive private collection of regional artwork that has been profiled in Buffalo Spree magazine, the Buffalo News and exhibited at several area venues. Register for this class at http://ic.buffalostate.edu/winterim/

January 11
Winterim 2012: Having a Conversation with a Work of Art: Kathy Shiroki, curator of museum learning and community engagement at the Burchfield Penney Art Center and lecturer in the Fine Arts Department, will teach participants how to have a conversation about a work of art without needing an art education background during a presentation in the Burchfield Penney. Guests will look at artwork from their unique perspectives and discover unexpected connections. Following the tour, guests will continue their conversations while enjoying cake and coffee provided by Maura’s Deli and Café. Participants should meet in the art center lobby for the 1:00 p.m. presentation. Cost is $10 and includes refreshments. Register online at http://ic.buffalostate.edu/winterim/

January 12
Winterim 2012: Museum Tour and Art Workshop at the Burchfield Penney Art Center: Burchfield Penney Art Center staff members Alana Ryder and Mary Kozub will provide guests with an in-depth tour of the Charles Burchfield exhibit Weather Event, 1:00-2:30 p.m. The art center, along with Buffalo State professor Stephen Vermette, organized the exhibit. Burchfield’s representation of weather, wind, skies, and sounds are unique historical records of the environment near Lake Erie. Following the tour, guests will create their own “weatherscape” in the studio classroom. Cost is $12 and covers the tour, workshop materials, and a museum gift. Payment via cash or check must be given to Alana Ryder by January 3. For more information, call (716) 878-4534 http://ic.buffalostate.edu/winterim/

January 13
Winterim 2012: Folding Origami Flowers to Beat the Winter Blahs!: Dennis Piatkowski, lecturer in the Writing Program, will teach participants how to make several easy origami flowers that can be used on greeting cards and in simple arrangements in a workshop held 10:00 a.m. to noon in Bacon Hall 117. Workshop participants should bring scissors and a glue stick. To register, go to http://ic.buffalostate.edu/winterim/

January 25
Interior Design Student Show: Students from the Interior Design Department will exhibit their faculty-selected works, including two- and three-dimensional projects in different analogue and digital media, January 25 through February 10 in the Czurles-Nelson Gallery in Upton Hall. The exhibit includes residential design, commercial design, public building retail, office planning, and lighting design. The exhibit is free and open to the public during gallery hours, 9:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. A closing reception will be held 5:00-7:00 p.m. February 10. (716) 878-4828.

January 26
Henry and Mudge: This Theatreworks musical designed for young children tells the story of Henry, a boy who moves from the city to a new house in the country, and Mudge, a 182-pound dog, with whom he shares all kinds of adventures. Based on the best-selling series of books by Cynthia Rylant. Show begins at 12:00 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at Rockwell Hall. Tickets are $6 and must be reserved in advance, with at least a 50 percent deposit. For every 20 paid tickets, a school or organization receives one free one. All payments must be made by a school check, money order, or credit card. No personal checks from parents will be accepted. (716) 878-3600 or pustelda@buffalostate.edu.

January 28
Black Girls’ Anthem: Presented by MJS Productions, this production performed by six talented women weaves together poetry, dance, music, and drama. Performance begins at 8:00 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at Rockwell Hall. Tickets are $35 and $30 for groups of 10 or more. For more information, visit http://blackgirlsanthem.com

January 30
Super Scientific Circus:Designed for children in grades 3 through 6, the Super Scientific Circus starring Mr. Fish and Trent the Mime proves that science can be fun and funny. The audience learns how to make and throw their own boomerangs, how to blow giant soap bubbles, and how to put a needle through a balloon. Two performances at 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at Rockwell Hall. Part of ArtsExplorations. Tickets are$6 and must be purchased in advance. (716) 878-3600 or pustelda@buffalostate.edu.

Ongoing through April 29, 2012
“Jacqueline Welch: Anatomy of a Sight Hound”: Artist Jacqueline Welch creates narrative poems that depict the dog as the patron saint of human idiosyncrasy or character flaw in this interactive exhibit at the Burchfield Penney Art Center that runs through April 29, 2012. The artist uses several glazes of oil paint layered over detailed graphite drawing on panel. Visitors to this installation can follow the paw prints into and around the museum and walk in the stride of a greyhound in flight; they can move the legs and tails of the greyhounds and patron saint artworks that can be rolled around the room and climbed into. Visitors are encouraged to record their dog memories and stories in the Dog Log notebook and to bring a favorite dog photo that the museum will post on its Beast Friends wall. Admission is free for members and $10 for the general public. (716) 878-6011. http://www.BurchfieldPenney.org.