Fall Arts Celebration to feature international art, scholarly events

Grand Valley State University has a rich history of providing events and programs for the community centered on the arts. Fall Arts Celebration 2016 continues this tradition by featuring distinguished writers, poets, musicians, artists and scholars. All events are free and open to the public.

Emerging Romanticism: The Ying Quartet Performs The Early Viennese Chamber Music of Beethoven
Monday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m.
Cook-DeWitt Center, Allendale Campus
Performance preceded by carillon concert from 7-7:20 p.m.
Now in its second decade as an ensemble, the Ying Quartet has established itself as one of the finest chamber ensembles performing today through regular appearances in many of the world's great venues, including Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House and the White House. Reprising their landmark interpretation of Beethoven’s "String Quartet Opus 18 No. 6," and then joining with Grand Valley faculty for a performance of the composer’s "Septet in E-flat major, Opus 20," West Michigan audiences will be treated to an evening celebrating some of Beethoven’s most iconic and beloved chamber works.

GVSU and SeoulTech Art and Design Faculty Exhibition
Exhibition dates: August 26-November 4
Exhibition reception: Thursday, September 22, from 5-7 p.m.
Art Gallery, Performing Arts Center, Allendale Campus
Experience international cultural exchange firsthand as faculty from Grand Valley's Art and Design Department partner for a joint exhibition with faculty from the College of Art and Design at Seoul National University of Science and Technology (SeoulTech), located in South Korea. Since 2008, the two universities have actively exchanged students and faculty through degree and study abroad programs, simultaneously broadening and strengthening a sense of international discovery, awareness and understanding. This exhibition celebrates a diverse range of creative media including ceramics, metalsmithing, digital design, printmaking, jewelry design, fiber arts, painting, visual studies and sculpture.

An Evening of Poetry and Conversation with Oliver de la Paz and Tracy K. Smith
Thursday, October 13, at 7 p.m.
L.V. Eberhard Center (2nd floor), Pew Grand Rapids Campus
Readings followed by book signing and reception
Smith is the author of the critically acclaimed memoir Ordinary Light, and three books of poetry. Her collection Life on Mars won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize and was selected as a New York Times Notable Book. Duende won the 2006 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets and an Essence Literary Award. The Body's Question was the winner of the 2002 Cave Canem Poetry Prize. In 2014, the Academy of American Poets awarded Smith with the Academy Fellowship, which is awarded to only one poet each year to recognize distinguished poetic achievement. Smith currently serves as the Roger S. Berlind '52 Professor in Humanities, and director of the creative writing program at Princeton University.

Oliver de la Paz is the author of four collections of poetry: Names Above Houses, Furious Lullaby, Post Subject: A Fable and Requiem for the Orchard, winner of the Akron Prize. He co-chairs the advisory board of Kundiman, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of Asian American Poetry and serves on the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Board. He is the music editor for At Length Magazine and he teaches in the MFA program at Western Washington University.

The Francesca Harper Project and GVSU Dance present Beethoven's "The Creatures of Prometheus" Ballet
Monday, October 24, at 7:30 p.m.
Louis Armstrong Theatre, Performing Arts Center, Allendale Campus
Performance preceded by carillon concert from 7-7:20 p.m.
While Beethoven's composition résumé is filled with numerous historic and well-known works, many people are not aware that the multifaceted composer also wrote a single ballet in 1801. Grand Valley State University students, along with renowned dance ensemble, The Francesa Harper Project, will perform an original interpretation of "The Creatures of Prometheus" during this year's Fall Arts Celebration dance event. Based in New York City, The Francesa Harper Project was founded by Harper in 2005 as a nonprofit performing arts company dedicated to creating ground-breaking dance, music and theater works.

Distinguished Academic Lecturer: Rebecca Solnit
"Seeing the Invisible: Journeys Through the Overlooked, Unheard, Outside and Insurrectionary"
Monday, November 14, at 7 p.m.
L.V. Eberhard Center (2nd floor), Pew Grand Rapids Campus
Lecture followed by book signing and reception
Acclaimed author Rebecca Solnit, who will serve as this year's distinguished academic lecturer, will discuss the intersections between art, geography and community during her Fall Arts presentation. A San Francisco-based writer, historian and activist, Solnit is the author of 15 books about a variety of topics, including geography, community, art, politics, hope and feminism. One of her benchmark publications, Men Explain Things to Me, is credited with launching the term "mansplaining," which describes when a man explains something to a woman in a condescending or patronizing manner. It has also been labeled as a touchstone of the feminist movement.

Musical Tradition and Timeless Memories: Handel's "Messiah"
Monday, December 5, at 7:30 p.m.
Fountain Street Church (24 Fountain St. SE, Grand Rapids)
Considered to be a musical fixture of the holiday season by audiences around the world, George Frideric Handel's "Messiah" is a time-honored classic that will conclude Fall Arts Celebration at Grand Valley State University. The voices of the Grand Valley State University Arts Chorale, along with the GVSU Symphony Orchestra, will perform "Messiah" during the holiday celebration. First performed in 1742, the "Messiah" quickly became a Yuletide event repeated in London and across the English-speaking world each year for more than 250 years. The first part of "Messiah," which is centered on the prophecy and the story of the birth of Jesus Christ, will be performed along with other holiday favorites for orchestra, vocal solo and choir.

For more information about all of this year’s events, visit the Fall Arts Celebration website or call (616) 331-2185.