GVSU Arts Celebration to feature range of free events

Grand Valley is an upcoming hotspot for celebrating art in its many diverse forms with the GVSU Arts Celebration, which offers free events centered around different art mediums through November. 

Its goals include strengthening connections with the local community and engaging students in thought-provoking explorations of art while ensuring that they are central to the story of the GVSU Arts Celebration .

The celebration features a diverse lineup of speakers and presenters while offering students various opportunities to grow as artists, experiment with new art forms and learn more about the guest speakers.

The exhibit, “Stories Reimagined: Artistic Narrative in the Digital Age” is hosted at the Haas Center for Performing Arts gallery in room PAC 1121 through November 7. The exhibit invites a conversation around how traditional media has shifted in the era of digital technology. The exhibit itself centers around how artists take on the role of storytellers, and how artists can now utilize various digital tools to tell stories of their own creation. These digital tools include, but aren’t limited to, augmented reality and artificial intelligence assisted artwork.

On October 16, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Tyehimba Jess will visit GVSU for the celebration . Jess is the author of "Leadbelly" and "Olio," both of which have won numerous prestigious awards.

Jess is renowned for his experimentation with different modes of writing poetry, from biography to lyric. His approach to structures also shifts from more traditional forms to those of his own invention.

"Leadbelly" dives into the life of the legendary blues musician, Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter. "Olio" is a collection of poems, half fact and half fiction, that details the lives of African American vaudeville performers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Jess will be participating in GVSU’s annual Poetry Night, one of the largest poetry readings in the state. Poetry Night will take place on October 16 from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Loosemore Auditorium in the DeVos Center on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus.

To conclude the GVSU Arts Celebration, the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company will be performing on November 3 from 7-8 p.m. DCDC’s mission is found in empowering young dancers to grow artistically and professionally.

Founded in 1968, the company is recognized for its beginnings in African American dance before its expansion to modern, contemporary, ballet, jazz and global movement styles. Known for their athleticism and grace, DCDC dancers effortlessly blend the more technical components of dance with emotional storytelling. Their GVSU performance aims to reflect the company’s belief in the “power of collaboration and shared creative experience.”

– This story was written by student Abby Jones, a senior majoring in journalism, broadcasting and digital media.