KENNESAW, Ga. | Sep 24, 2024

Performance at Zuckerman Museum features all four artistic disciplines of KSU College of the Arts

Imagine if arts patrons were able to ask performers in dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts to all perform at the same time. Now imagine having those artists perform right next to the audience, in an intimate, beautiful venue, close to home, and all for free. Finally, imagine hearing a 2024 Venice Biennale artist talk about his unique work, and then listening in as he chats with his well-known collector. 

If that sounds interesting, don’t miss “Interchange,” an annual collaboration featuring faculty and alumni from all four disciplines of Kennesaw State University’s College of the Arts (ArtsKSU). Slated for Oct. 17 at 7 p.m., “Interchange” is presented by the Bernard A. Zuckerman Museum of Art, a unit of the School of Art and Design. This unique, free presentation of live, intimate performances celebrates the creativity that all artistic disciplines share with one another. 

This year’s program features ArtsKSU faculty and a recently graduated student performing in response to the artworks in the exhibition “Jeffrey Gibson: They Teach Love From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation.” The exhibition, which runs until Dec. 7, includes 35 captivating objects spanning 15 years of Jeffrey Gibson’s prolific career. As a citizen of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and of Cherokee heritage, his work is deeply rooted in his identity and experiences. 

The works showcased in the Zuckerman Museum of Art (ZMA) exhibition delve into his exploration of radical transformation, both in objects and people, as he takes viewers on a journey through printmaking, photography, painting, sculpture, and contemporary adornment in fashion. The display also includes recent works exploring performance, installation, and video, revealing the artist's foray into new expressive forms.

A highlight of the exhibition is the centerpiece work, “To Name An Other,” an immersive installation consisting of 51 screen-printed elk hide drums and 50 wearable garments. Originally commissioned as a performance by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, the installation marks a pivotal moment: embracing collective-based, collaborative projects and performances and using them to engage audiences and communities. 

The performers in “Interchange,” also a collaborative and collective-based project, will find inspiration from the work, and then use their reaction(s) to the work in their own performances.  Patrons will see a wide variety of work from the Department of Dance, the Dr. Bobbie Bailey School of Music, and the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies. After the performance, patrons may listen as Gibson talks about his work, and later, chats with the collector Jordan D. Schnitzer. 

“Interchange,” the Artist Talk with Jeffrey Gibson, and the live conversation with Gibson and the collector Jordan D. Schnitzer are all free with registration. Please register early as space is limited. 

--Kathie Beckett