GVSU Arts Celebration to present renowned artists and performers at free public events

The annual Grand Valley State University Arts Celebration offers the entire West Michigan community an opportunity to interact with top artists, watch special performances and engage with thought-provoking pieces.

GVSU will present to the public an exhibition as well as visual, performing and literary art events at both the Valley Campus in Allendale as well as at Wealthy Theatre in Grand Rapids. The events, which are free and open to the public, will run through November.

"Once again, we are excited to offer our students and community the opportunity to interact with renown artists, musicians and writers," said Christopher Jones, dean of the GVSU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. "Grand Valley is committed to elevating the arts and celebrating our humanity through creative expression. The Arts Celebration is not to be missed.”

Audiences can explore themes that include women in art, animals and sustainability and also listen to a Grammy-winning quartet that will be joined by an acclaimed Grand Valley musician and professor.

Here is the full slate of events:

Appearance: Exhibition on display through Nov. 6.

About: The special event is part of an exhibition in the Haas Center for Performing Arts Gallery. It explores the shifting place of women artists within the art world, from histories of marginalization to increasing recognition and influence.

The exhibition brings together artists working across painting, photography, sculpture, design, printmaking and craft, said Nathan Kemler, GVSU Art Museum director.

"'The exhibition invites our community to reconsider how artistic canons are constructed — and how those narratives have been evolving over the past 50 years," Kemler said. "By placing underrecognized voices alongside internationally influential artists, Margin to Mainstream encourages viewers to think critically about who defines cultural significance and how institutions can participate in expanding the stories we tell."

Appearances: 

• Exhibition reception: 4-6 p.m. Sept. 17 at Calder Art Center, Valley Campus
• "Art as a Way of Knowing (and not knowing) Animals: An Artist Talk by Maria Lux": 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Sept. 18, Grand River Room, Kirkhof Center, Valley Campus, registration required
• Animals & Art: Panel Discussion: 2-3 p.m. Sept. 18, Grand River Room, Kirkhof Center, Valley Campus

About: Maria Lux creates animal-focused, research-based artworks, often through "unserious" approaches such as absurdity and playfulness that she says can help her cope with distress about the damaging treatment of creatures and also invite productive dialogue. "What has encouraged me to keep going in this approach is that I find it makes it possible to have conversations that are more curious or inquisitive, rather than confrontational," Lux said.

Dulcee Boehm, curator of Visual Resources for the Department of Visual and Media Arts, said Lux's work highlights how artwork can be informed by research happening in other disciplines. "My hope is that students, and others within the Grand Valley community, are excited by seeing her artwork in person and can spend time in conversation during her visit. The design of the program this year has multiple points of interaction with Maria."

Added student Reese Coppe, gallery and event assistant: "At first glance, some of her work is a bit surreal, but after delving into the research and writing of the pieces, a bigger story unfolds. Her art is not always what it appears to be, the same as animals. My hope for viewers experiencing her case study this fall is that they take away this lesson and further question how we think about these creatures."

Appearances: 

• "From Mozart to Childs": 7:30 – 9 p.m. on Oct. 5, Haas Center for the Performing Arts, Valley Campus, free with a reserved ticket
• "Ying Quartet with Guest Artist Pablo Mahave-Veglia: Schubert’s C Major Quintet": from 7:30 – 9 p.m. on Oct. 7, Cook-DeWitt Center, Valley Campus, free with a reserved ticket

About: Phillip Ying, who plays viola for the Grammy-winning quartet, said the musicians value the opportunity to visit GVSU and contribute to the arts, which are a vital part of a healthy and vibrant community. "As a string quartet, we have the tremendous opportunity and reward of exploring some of the greatest works of music that have ever been written. Amazingly, these works speak just as powerfully to our shared humanity today as the day they were written."

Ying is excited to welcome longtime friend Pablo Mahave-Veglia, GVSU professor of cello, on Oct. 7 to expand the group for the night to perform "Schubert’s C Major Quintet." Ying said Mahave-Veglia's cello will add "wonderful depth and richness to the tonal range of the ensemble, and it also enables us to play the Schubert cello quintet which in almost everyone's estimation is one of the most profound and powerful works in all of music."

Mahave-Veglia said the performance is fulfilling both as a musician and as a faculty member, noting he teaches a chamber music class at GVSU. "It centers precisely on the musical collaboration, integration and collective performance that we will engage upon for this concert," Mahave-Veglia said.

Appearance: Poet Craig Santos Perez will share his work from 7-9 p.m. on Oct. 15 at the Wealthy Theatre, 1130 Wealthy St. SE.

About: Craig Santos Perez is an Indigenous Chamoru from the Pacific Island of Guam who is an award-winning poet, editor, essayist, critic, environmentalist and political activist. He is an important voice in eco-poetics. "The core of my work explores how poetry offers insight into culture, politics, history, and the environment," Perez said. "I hope audiences will be moved to reflect upon their identities and connection to the world."

W. Todd Kaneko, poet and associate professor of writing, said that Perez will appear at Poetry Night for a poetry reading and conversation, as well as for the 2026 GVSU Climate Change Education Solutions Summit happening the same week. 

"At Poetry Night, the audience can expect to encounter his poems, his humor, his thoughtfulness, his passion for protecting our natural world and have a chance to meet and speak with him. GVSU is so lucky to be able to bring him to interact with our campus and local communities."