KENNESAW, Ga. | Aug 13, 2024

New season gives arts patrons a great reason to come to campus

The College of the Arts at Kennesaw State University (ArtsKSU) is back to school this week, and students, faculty, and staff are excited about the upcoming 2024-2025 season. Arts patrons will enjoy the varied offerings from the School of Art and Design, the Department of Dance, the Dr. Bobbie Bailey School of Music, and the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies. A few highlights: 

Seeing Double (Premieres) 
The Department of Dance presents two world premieres by choreographers Tristian Griffin and Christian Denice in “Double Exposure” Aug. 23-24. Created exclusively for the KSU Dance Company, these works represent the culmination of the Eleo Pomare/Glenn Connor Summer Residency. This evening of original concert dance promises to push the boundaries of artistic innovation. Ticketing.kennesaw.edu.

From the Venice Biennale to KSU
The School of Art and Design’s Zuckerman Museum of Art will present “Jeffrey Gibson: They Teach Love From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation,” opening Aug. 27 and running through Dec. 6. The exhibition includes prints, photography, painting, sculpture, installation, and video. Gibson is a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw, and his work is a call for Indigenous empowerment as well as queer visibility. Representing the U.S. at the Venice Biennale 2024, he is the first Indigenous artist to have a solo exhibition in the American Pavilion. Free. 

Remembering the Freedom Riders
Actor, playwright, and educator Mike Wiley will present “Breach of Peace” Sept. 6-8. Hosted by the Department of Theatre & Performance Studies, the one-man show is based on true accounts of surviving Freedom Riders, along with others involved in the early struggle for African American equality. This solo-play is a living monument to those remarkable young men and women of various races, religions and backgrounds who rose to face the dangers of fighting for just and equal treatment for all. Ticketing.kennesaw.edu 

Celebrating the Music of Johnny Mercer 
On Sept. 20, The Bailey School of Music welcomes Stephanie Blythe, Mezzo-Soprano, and Ryan McCullough, Piano, in “Mister In-Between: The Music of Johnny Mercer.” The duo will take the audience on a lyrical journal highlighting one of the most important and celebrated musical artists in America. Ticketing.kennesaw.edu.

View the entire College of the Arts season here.  

––Kathie Beckett