UNT's Institute for the Advancement of Arts celebrates its 5th anniversary with exhibition, other events

Monday, September 22, 2014 - 19:15
Category:

What: IAA Fellows: Celebrating Five Years of Achievement, an exhibitionfeaturing the works of Faculty Fellows program, which allows faculty members to take a semester off from teaching to pursue creative research in the arts.

When: Oct. 13 (Monday) - Nov. 5 (Wednesday)

Where: UNT on the Square, 109 N. Elm St., Denton

Hours: 9 a.m. - noon and 1 - 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, with extended hours until 8 p.m. on Thursdays and 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Saturdays

Cost: Free admission

What else: A reception hosted by Provost Warren Burggren will take place from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. Oct. 20 (Monday).

DENTON (UNT), Texas – The Institute for the Advancement of the Arts, the arm of the University of North Texas that promotes artistic and creative expression, will celebrate its fifth anniversary this year with a series of programs at its downtown location, UNT on the Square.

The first event is the exhibition IAA Fellows: Celebrating Five Years of Achievement,running Oct. 13 (Monday) – Nov. 5 (Wednesday), with works from participants in its Faculty Fellows program, which allows UNT faculty members to take a semester off from teaching to pursue creative research in the arts.

Art work and displays featuring the 14 emeritus IAA Fellows will be included in the exhibition among them:

Audio and video displays as well as wall panels featuring literary excerpt will also be among the items included in the exhibition.

In addition to the Faculty Fellows program, the IAA also sponsors the artist-in-residence program, which brought in filmmaker Guillermo Arriaga, composer Jake Heggieand artists Nick Cave and Kiki Smith. This year’s artist-in-residence is novelist Aleksandar Hemon.

The IAA also manages the downtown gallery, UNT on the Square, which also opened five years ago. The gallery has hosted more than 40 exhibitions, including a show from Denton ISD art students and the Bandit Store, featuring artwork from UNT alumnus Ron English that raised money for Denton County Friends of the Family. The gallery features year-round programming, including concerts and lectures, and has served as a meeting space for UNT and community events.

"The IAA was established to celebrate the vibrant fine and performing arts activities at UNT and in Denton," said Provost Warren Burggren, who was on the steering committee that formed the IAA. "The IAA has been a wonderful vehicle for both bringing in top international fine and performing artists to our campus for extended visits, as well as supporting the ongoing scholarly work some of our own excellent faculty in these disciplines."

Herbert Holl, director of the IAA, also noted, "For our students, it’s given them person to person interaction with artists and creative people at the top of their professions."

Other programs throughout the year will spotlight other former fellows, including:

Additional programs are in the planning stages and will be announced soon.

This year UNT on the Square will feature three exhibitions featuring IAA fellows –Robert Jessup: Four Paintings, 2014, which runs through Sept. 25; the fellows exhibition; and Vincent Falsetta: Agendas, which is scheduled to run from Jan. 26 (Monday) to Feb. 21 (Saturday).

UNT News Service
News_Service@unt.edu
(940) 565-2108