The Center For The Arts Presents ARTS EMERGING: A CELEBRATION OF RENEWAL

The start of the 2021 fall semester marks the 20th anniversary of George Mason University's College of Visual and Performing Arts. To celebrate the occasion and welcome audiences back to in-person programming, the Center for the Arts presents Arts Emerging: A Celebration of Renewal on Saturday, September 25 from 5 to 9 p.m. featuring outdoor and indoor performances and exhibitions.

"Arts Emerging is a celebration of the power of the arts to create community," shares Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts Rick Davis. "With work across our many art forms as well as activities for all ages, we will offer safe, festive, and meaningful reasons to gather and share the energy of our great students and alumni."

The family-friendly event features food trucks, current student and alumni performances, visual art exhibits, interactive gaming activities, an artist marketplace, and more! Proceeds support student scholarships in Mason's College of Visual and Performing Arts, the Mason Community Arts Academy, Green Machine Ensembles, and the Great Performances at Mason season at the Center for the Arts. The event is co-chaired by Arts at Mason Board members Steven Golsch (Vice President, People and Culture at NowSecure) and Annie Bolger (Corporate and Client Service Manager and Bank Officer at Sandy Spring Bank).

In regards to working on the event Bolger adds, "Steven and I continue to be thrilled at the opportunity to represent the College and introduce this wonderful and festive event. At a time when things are so unsorted in our world, it's the arts that refreshes, brings truth, and helps to keep things whole."

Davis includes, "We're also belatedly celebrating 30 years of the Center for the Arts, which was official in October 2020, as well as 20 years of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, so this event has a distinct 'milestone' aspect. The arts have become one of Mason's signature tools for the University to engage with its community and Arts Emerging is a powerful example of that in action."

Program Schedule:

5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Student and alumni showcases on Holton Plaza; an art installation, film screenings, and interactive gaming stations in Buchanan Hall; an artist marketplace in the Center for the Arts lobby; and food and drink will be available for purchase from The Roaming Coyote, The Big Cheese, and East Coast Creamery along Mason Pond Drive.

8 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Student, faculty, and alumni showcase in the Center for the Arts Concert Hall celebrating 20 years of the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Holton Plaza (located outside and adjacent to the Concert Hall) will host a rotating performance lineup featuring an excerpt from the School of Theater's upcoming concert presentation of Footloose as well as a performance from musical theater alumna Adelina Mitchell ('19). The lineup will also include an instrumental jazz ensemble from the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music, a performance from Mason's School of Dance faculty member Shaun Boyle D'Arcy, the Mason Community Arts Academy's youth string players, and the Green Machine's Dirty Gold Brass Band.

Simultaneously in nearby Buchanan Hall, the School of Art will feature an exhibit entitled Women of the Same Blood by alumna Zia Palmer ('19), screenings of Mason's Film and Video Studies Program documentary and narrative showcases, and interactive gaming stations from Mason's Game Design program.

The evening leads up to the 8 p.m. presentation in the Center for the Arts Concert Hall featuring videos, guest appearances from alumni, remarks by George Mason University President Gregory Washington, and performances by current students and alumni. School of Dance alumna Sasha Hollinger ('09), who made her Broadway debut in Hamilton as #thebullet, will present a special scholarship to a current student, followed by an interactive Fund-A-Student drive.

Tickets are $10, and available to purchase on the Center for the Arts' website.
Tickets for Mason students are free, and sponsorship opportunities are also available.

Information on what to expect when attending an indoor performance at the Center for the Arts can be found on the website.

To post a comment, you must register and login.