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 Exhibitions and other
On-Going Events 
University Gallery
Of People and Places
through  12/14/2008
Augusta Savage Gallery
Transporting: oil, water, arteries and veins in the Amazon
through  12/5/2008
Hampden Gallery
New England/ New York/ New Talent 2008
through  12/7/2008
Central Gallery
Ben Ostiguy
through  12/11/2008

 

 

 

Events from Outside Presenters
The Capitol Steps 
Friday, December 05, 2008
 
The Capitol Steps 
Saturday, December 06, 2008
 
David Sedaris 
Sunday, April 05, 2009
 

Global Arts
Soweto Gospel Choir
Thursday, December 4, 
Concert Hall
Earthy rhythms, rich harmonies, and charismatic a cappella performances combine to uplift the soul and express South Africa’s hope for the future.
SOLD OUT
Call to be placed on the waiting list

University Gallery
CONTEMPORARY ART CIRCLE Trip to MASS MoCA and Williamstown
featuring Sol LeWitt and Tadao Ando
Saturday, December 6, from 8:30 am to 6:30 pm
MASS MoCA and Williamstown
The University Gallery invites you to an exciting trip to Williamstown and to North Adams. We will stop at the newly finished Stone Hill Center by Japanese architect Tadao Ando on the grounds of the Clark museum. We then proceed to view the new Sol LeWitt exhibition in a building exclusively dedicated to the late American master.

We will learn about the three floors of wall drawings and hear from our guide Kim Carlino on the process of installing a Sol LeWitt. Carlino has spent several months with the LeWitt team to create the most extensive exhibition ever by the artist.

A guided tour of the regular exhibitions at MASS MoCA follows.

Asian Arts & Culture Program
Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company in Concert
The Way of Five
Thursday, December 11, 7:30 pm
Fine Arts Center Concert Hall
The Way of Five is Nai-Ni Chen's newest work and premiered in New York City, April 2008.
Barnes & Noble Nai-Ni Chen Dance Preview  See a free preview and support Asian Arts & Culture Educational Programs!  Tuesday, December 9  6:00 pm to 7:00 pm  Free  Barnes & Noble, Hadley, MA

Global Arts
A Dragon’s Tale: Nai-Ni Chen Dance
Thursday, December 11, 
Concert Hall
Five thousand years and over three million square miles of Chinese culture are explored in this dance production full of movement and color.

University Gallery
Poetry Reading
Pulitzer Prize Winner Franz Wright reads in the Gallery
Thursday, December 11, 8:00 pm
University Gallery
In conjunction with the Visiting Writers Series the University Gallery presents Franz Wright.

January  

Fine Arts Center
20th Annual Friends of the Fine Arts Center Gala & Auction
Saturday, January 31, 
Hotel Northampton
A Benefit for Artist Community Educational Residencies

February  

Hampden Gallery
Kristin Nason: 16/28: Places/Years
Sunday, February 1 - Saturday, February 28 Tentative, 
Hampden Gallery Main Space

Hampden Gallery
Kristin Nason: Cold Storage
Sunday, February 1 - Saturday, February 28 Tentative, 
Incubator Project Space

Arts Council
Single Project Event Grant Deadline
Wednesday, February 4, 

Umass Art Council - 10 Curry Hicks - 545-0202 - 12 PM Deadline.

Center Series
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
Wednesday, February 4, 7:30 pm
Concert Hall
Recognized worldwide for its exuberant, athletic, and eclectic approach to dance, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago has been an innovative force in contemporary dance for over three decades.
Hubbard Street Dance Company Pre-performance talk by: Prof. Constance Valis Hill    Wednesday, February 4  6:45 pm to 7:15 pm  Free for those attending Hubbard Street Dance Company  Fine Arts Center Lobby

University Gallery
Sheron Rupp: Dialogue With a Collection
Thursday, February 5 - Sunday, March 29, 
University Gallery
This exhibition is the second in a series of exhibitions in which artists are invited to integrate their own works with pieces they select from the University Gallery’s works-on-paper collection.
Opening Reception:  Sheron Rupp: Dialogue With a Collection  Thursday, February 5 - Wednesday, February 5  6:30 pm to 7:30 pm  Free and open to the public. Free parking after 5pm.  
In Conversations: 3 Salons with Art Critic Gloria Russell    Wednesday, March 4, 2009  5:00 pm to 7:00 pm    

Center Series
Hot 8 Brass Band
Friday, February 6, 8:00 pm
Bowker Auditorium
New Orleans' Hot 8 Brass Band captures the rhythm and the pulse of the city's magnificent celebratory street music. Hot 8 performs music of the honored Second Line tradition, infusing the funk and energy that make New Orleans music loved around the world.

University Gallery
Miroslaw Balka: Lightworks
Friday, February 6 - Sunday, March 29, 
University Gallery
This exhibition presents a selection of recent video works by the internationally acclaimed Polish sculptor Miroslaw Balka.
Opening Reception:  Miroslaw Balka  Thursday, February 5  5:00 pm to 7:30 pm  Free and open to the public  

Global Arts
Hot 8 Brass Band
Tradition, Tragedy and Hope
Friday, February 6, 10:00 am
Bowker Auditorium
New Orleans' Hot 8 Brass Band has epitomized New Orleans street music for over a decade. Music reflecting songs familiar to the southern experience are performed interspersed with stories on the history of New Orleans and Katrina's impact on the lives of city residents.

Augusta Savage Gallery
Gems in the Valley: A Toast to Nelson Stevens
Works of Professor Nelson Stevens
Monday, February 9 - Friday, March 13, 
Augusta Savage Gallery
The exhibit will showcase works by renowned painter and long-standing member of the Pioneer Valley, Nelson Stevens. Featuring a range of styles and mediums dating back to the 1970s, his works on paper, canvas, doors, board, album covers, prints in magazines and calendars attest to Stevens’ prolific career as a visual artist, teacher, arts activist, and cultural ambassador. Some works in this show are on loan by collectors, while others have been part of the Augusta Savage and Afro American Studies permanent collections.
Opening Reception  Gems in the Valley  Monday, February 9  5:00 pm to 7:00 pm    

New World Theater
I Land
by Keo Woolford, directed by Roberta Uno
Wednesday, February 11 - Thursday, February 12, 8:00 pm
Bowker Auditorium, Umass
At once hilarious, defiant and transcendent, I Land weaves together traditional Hawai'ian hula, Hip-Hop, Hawai'ian talk and spoken word. Created in collaboration with director Roberta Uno, I Land is acclaimed actor and hula dancer Keo Woolford's moving search for the meaning of heritage in a post-modern world.
This is an Angel Ticket event

Global Arts
Tomás Kubínek
Friday, February 13, 10:00 am
Concert Hall
Described as part vaudeville, part improv and completely magical, this artist of international renown leaves his audiences with a comically altered view of life’s creative possibilities.

Center Series
Tomáš Kubínek
Friday, February 13, 7:00 pm
Concert Hall
The New York Times proclaims that Kubínek is a "magician, clown, and comic whose jokes and ad-libs bring giggles from youngsters and guffaws from adults."
This is an Angel Ticket event

Center Series
Mariza
Thursday, February 19, 7:30 pm
Concert Hall
Of the crop of singers who have breathed new life into fado, the traditional Portuguese song form, none has risen so fast as Mariza. Considered throughout the world to be the reigning ambassador of Portuguese fado, Mariza has been seducing audiences globally with her awesome singing, charismatic stage presence, and powerful blend of traditional and contemporary songs.
This is an Angel Ticket event
Mariza Portuguese festival    Tuesday, February 19  6:30 pm    Fine Arts Center Lobby

Arts Council
Mini Grant Deadline
Wednesday, February 25, 

Umass Art Council - 10 Curry Hicks - 545-0202 - 12 PM Deadline.

Magic Triangle
An Incendiary Evening of Improvised Music
Thursday, February 26, 8:00 pm
Bezanson Recital Hall
The legendary New Orleans saxophonist and educator Edward ‘Kidd’ Jordan brings his Trio, featuring William Parker and Alvin Fielder, for an incendiary evening of improvised music

Center Series
Luis Bravo
Forever Tango
Friday, February 27, 8:00 pm
Concert Hall
Widely applauded for its elegant artistry and sizzling sensuality, Luis Bravo's Forever Tango is a Broadway favorite that continues to wow audiences worldwide.Steamy and seductive, tango has captivated dance enthusiasts around the world with its mesmerizing rhythms, gestures, and movements.
Global Gourmet  Join us for Argentina's national dish  Friday, February 27  5:00 pm  Prix Fixe of $25  University Club and Restaurant

Global Arts
Awaji Puppet Theater: Japanese Puppets
Friday, February 27, 10:00 am
Bowker Auditorium
Elaborately costumed puppets requiring three people to manipulate take the stage to perform programs of traditional dance, music and drama.

Asian Arts & Culture Program
Awaji Puppet Theater
A Traditional Japanese Puppetry Form
Saturday, February 28, 8:00 pm
Bowker Auditorium
The five hundred year old cradle of all other Japanese puppet theater forms...
This is an Angel Ticket event

March  

University Gallery
Miroslaw Balka: Lightworks
Friday, February 6 - Sunday, March 29, 
University Gallery
This exhibition presents a selection of recent video works by the internationally acclaimed Polish sculptor Miroslaw Balka.
Opening Reception:  Miroslaw Balka  Thursday, February 5  5:00 pm to 7:30 pm  Free and open to the public  

University Gallery
Sheron Rupp: Dialogue With a Collection
Thursday, February 5 - Sunday, March 29, 
University Gallery
This exhibition is the second in a series of exhibitions in which artists are invited to integrate their own works with pieces they select from the University Gallery’s works-on-paper collection.
Opening Reception:  Sheron Rupp: Dialogue With a Collection  Thursday, February 5 - Wednesday, February 5  6:30 pm to 7:30 pm  Free and open to the public. Free parking after 5pm.  
In Conversations: 3 Salons with Art Critic Gloria Russell    Wednesday, March 4, 2009  5:00 pm to 7:00 pm    

Augusta Savage Gallery
Gems in the Valley: A Toast to Nelson Stevens
Works of Professor Nelson Stevens
Monday, February 9 - Friday, March 13, 
Augusta Savage Gallery
The exhibit will showcase works by renowned painter and long-standing member of the Pioneer Valley, Nelson Stevens. Featuring a range of styles and mediums dating back to the 1970s, his works on paper, canvas, doors, board, album covers, prints in magazines and calendars attest to Stevens’ prolific career as a visual artist, teacher, arts activist, and cultural ambassador. Some works in this show are on loan by collectors, while others have been part of the Augusta Savage and Afro American Studies permanent collections.
Opening Reception  Gems in the Valley  Monday, February 9  5:00 pm to 7:00 pm    

Hampden Gallery
Monica Rabinowitz: Line #5- Knyazhevo
Sunday, March 1 - Thursday, April 30 Tentative, 
Incubator Project Space
Monica Rabinowitz re-creates the memories of her Bulgarian grandmother’s life and projects them onto the interior windshield of a deconstructed tram car.

Arts Council
Single Project Event Grant Deadline
Wednesday, March 4, 

Umass Art Council - 10 Curry Hicks - 545-0202 - 12 PM Deadline.

Center Series
National Acrobats of China
Co-presented with the Asian Arts and Culture Program
Monday, March 9, 7:30 pm
Concert Hall
Founded over fifty years ago, this troupe has been one of the most influential acrobatic ensembles in the world, having won every important award in international competitions. From plate-spinning to cycling stunts to bench-juggling with their feet, The National Acrobats of China never cease to amaze audiences around the globe.
This is an Angel Ticket event

Global Arts
National Acrobats of China
Tuesday, March 10, 10:00 am
Concert Hall
These astounding athletes undertake feats ranging from gravity-defying balancing acts and spine-bending contortions to stunts such as foot juggling, chair stacking and plate spinning. Join us to be thrilled by one of the best acrobatic troupes in the world.
SOLD OUT
Call to be placed on the waiting list

Augusta Savage Gallery
Showcase
Poets and Writers of the MFA program
Thursday, March 12, 7:00 pm
Augusta Savage Gallery
A reading featuring several graduates of the MFA program for poets and writers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Center Series
Cantus
Thursday, March 12, 7:30 pm
Bowker Auditorium
From art songs to folk songs, from Smokey Robinson to Richard Strauss, Cantus' brilliant sound, innovative programming and heart-felt singing have garnered the highest praise from critics and audiences alike. The singers—solo quality all—produce a wonderfully warm, gutsy and masculine sounds as well as a kind of smooth delivery, overtly emotionality, and uncanny sense of ensemble.

Magic Triangle
Three Things to Say: Terry Jenoure, Billy Bang, Charles Burnham pay tribute to Leroy Jenkins
Thursday, March 26, 8:00 pm
Bezanson Recital Hall
Three master improvising violinists pay homage to the most important violinist to emerge in the post-Coltrane era: the late Leroy Jenkins.

Center Series
Trinity Irish Dance
Friday, March 27, 8:00 pm
Concert Hall
Athletic and hard-driving yet graceful, this sensational Irish-American dance company crosses cultural boundaries to create a new cutting-edge vocabulary for Irish step dancing. For a dazzling evening of dance, complete with beautiful costumes, lighting, and live music, don't miss Trinity Irish Dance.
This is an Angel Ticket event
Global Gourmet  You will be Irish before you get to the performance if you dine with us.  Friday, March 27  5:00 pm  Prix Fixe $25  University Club & Restaurant
The Arts Give Back: Jessie's House    Friday, March 27  8:00 pm    

April  

Hampden Gallery
Monica Rabinowitz: Line #5- Knyazhevo
Sunday, March 1 - Thursday, April 30 Tentative, 
Incubator Project Space
Monica Rabinowitz re-creates the memories of her Bulgarian grandmother’s life and projects them onto the interior windshield of a deconstructed tram car.

Arts Council
Mini Grant Deadline
Wednesday, April 1, 

Umass Art Council - 10 Curry Hicks - 545-0202 - 12 PM Deadline.

Hampden Gallery
Artist In Residence
Dorothea Fleiss
Wednesday, April 1 - Thursday, April 30 Tentative, 
Hampden Gallery Main Space

Hampden Gallery
Here, There, and Everywhere: Anticipating The Future of Art
Wednesday, April 1 - Thursday, April 30 Tentative, 
Hampden Gallery Studio Gallery
Artists from USA, Egypt, Ukraine, Morocco, England, Syria, Thailand, Dubai, Brazil, Germany, Romani, Vietnam, and Poland collaborate as participants in TransCultural Exchange’s Here, There, and Everywhere: Anticipating The Future of Art (in partnership with Hampden Gallery)

Augusta Savage Gallery
Nomad: Women On the Move
Collaboration between Elizabeth Ross, Teresa Puig, Dorothea Fleiss, and Cristina Fernandez
Wednesday, April 1 - Friday, April 10, 
Augusta Savage Gallery
Through video, photos, audio materials, and objects, these artists will research in the cities where they live among the many women who are affected by migration. They leave their land, their families, their cultural roots and face an usually hard welcome in those rich promiseland nations.

New World Theater
Project 2050
Thursday, April 2 - Friday, April 3, 8:00 pm
Bowker Auditorium, Umass
Created in collaboration with professional artists, Project 2050 youth use hip-hop, spoken word, breaking, stepping, music, video storytelling and more, to share their realities and examine local and global issues in this high-energy, original performance. They burst onto the stage, asking the tough questions and showing their creative imagining of a near-future when it will become imperative to address issues of race construction, social equity and power. Join Project 2050 as they truly imagine and create a new future on stage!

Center Series
I Musici de Montréal
Choreographed Pictures at an Exhibition
Sunday, April 5, 3:00 pm
Concert Hall
Under the direction of cellist Yuri Turovsky, I Musici de Montréal has been celebrated throughout the world for its laser-like precision, cohesion, expressiveness, assurance, and compelling flair. Fanfare magazine recently recognized I Musici de Montréal as "one of the best chamber orchestras in North America."
This is an Angel Ticket event
I Musici de Montreal Pre-performance talk by artist/violinist Natasha Turovsky    Friday, April 3  2:15 pm to 2:45 pm    Fine Arts Center Lobby

Global Arts
Spirit Horse
Roseneath Theatre of Toronto
Wednesday, April 8, 10:00 am
Concert Hall
A Native American adaptation of the highly successful British play Tir na N’og by Greg Banks (who directs this version), this heart-warming adventure story explores the value of tradition, culture and family in a contemporary framework.

Global Arts
Salute to Baseball Japan Style: Taiko Drums and Trumpet
Wednesday, April 15, 10:00 am
Concert Hall
Reprising a joint performance that welcomed Dice-K to the Boston Red Sox- this performance fuses traditonal instruments in an exciting new sound!

Augusta Savage Gallery
Art from the Heart
Paintings and Drawings by Yusef Lateef
Thursday, April 16 - Thursday, April 30, 
Augusta Savage Gallery
A solo exhibition of recent works by Yusef Lateef. Lateef's trees, created in the last two years since his retirement from the University of Massachusetts Amherst are far from conventional, as one might expect, giving us yet another glimpse into his fully engaged life.
Opening Reception  Art from the Heart  Thursday, April 16  5:00 pm to 7:00 pm    

University Gallery
Massachusetts Review 50th Anniversary
Friday, April 17 - Saturday, May 23, 2009, 
University Gallery
This 50th anniversary exhibition will display covers and original artwork from all five decades, as a sort of timeline, as well as ephemera, letters, and broadsides.

Center Series
National Philharmonic of Russia
Vladimir Spivakov, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor
Sunday, April 19, 7:00 pm
Concert Hall
Composed of the country's leading symphonic virtuosos and led by the electrifying conductor and violinist Vladimir Spivakov, the National Philharmonic of Russia has quickly established itself as the finest and most exciting orchestra to emerge from Russia in many years.
National Philharmonic of Russia Pre-performance talk by Lonfranco Marcelletti    Sunday, April 19  6:15 pm to 6:45 pm  Free for those attending  Fine Arts Center Lobby
Global Gourmet  The University Club & Restaurant will enchant you with its pre-show Russian cuisine.  Sunday, April 19  5:00 pm    

Augusta Savage Gallery
Beginning Again
An evening of poetry and music with Dr. Frederick C. Tillis
Tuesday, April 21, 7:00 pm
Augusta Savage Gallery
Reading from his most recent book of poetry, this Professor Emeritus and former Director of the Fine Arts Center at the University of Massachusetts brings us reflections and a celebration for those meaningful moments in life. Dr. Tillis, a native of Galveston, Texas is an accomplished poet, composer, saxophonist, professor, and administrator. He has published numerous books of poetry; and his music catalog is extensive, including more than 125 compositions and commissions, spanning both jazz and classical European traditions in various media - orchestral, jazz, instrumental, choral, chamber music, and vocal works.

Center Series
Toumani Diabaté Symmetric Orchestra
Thursday, April 23, 7:30 pm
Concert Hall
The Symmetric Orchestra, Diabaté's terrific pan-African band, includes musicians from Senegal, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Mali. All contribute to a buoyantly jubilant sound that will rock the Fine Arts Center. Join in the party spirit!
This is an Angel Ticket event
Toumani Diabate : Earth Day Celebration    Wednesday, April 22      
Toumani Diabate Pre-performance talk by: Prof. Olabode Omojola    Thursday, April 23  6:45 pm to 7:15 pm  Free for those attending Toumani Diabate  Fine Arts Center Lobby
The Arts Give Back: New England Learning Center for Women in Transition    Thursday, April 23  7:30 pm    

Magic Triangle
Ganelin Trio Priority
Tuesday, April 28, 8:00 pm
Bezanson Recital Hall
Ganelin is a master architect who can combine eclectic and poly-stylistic themes, abstract ideas, stories and mini-dramas into a unified statement, and let it sound symphonic, orchestral, and cinematic.
This is an Angel Ticket event

New World Theater
Ameriville
by Universes, directed by Chay Yew
Thursday, April 30 - Friday, May 1, 8:00 pm
Bowker Auditorium, Umass
Ameriville is a cross-disciplinary, bi-lingual, multimedia exploration of what it means to be an American in the post-9/11 world of terror-level codes, the 'misinformation superhighway,' and media-fed xenophobia. Universes' unique brand of fushion theater gives new insight and urgency to the national re-examination of values, purpose, and ideals in the wake of 9/11 and in the midst of the so-called "war on terror." Inspired by the panic induced by the 1939 Orson Welles War of the Worlds radio broadcast, Ameriville maneuvers through contemporary issues including censorship, patriotism, the Katrina disaster, and the narrowing divide between church and state to expose "a disrobed Lady Liberty as she lies in the arms of mass media and technology, no longer sure of her own beliefs."

May  

University Gallery
Massachusetts Review 50th Anniversary
Friday, April 17 - Saturday, May 23, 2009, 
University Gallery
This 50th anniversary exhibition will display covers and original artwork from all five decades, as a sort of timeline, as well as ephemera, letters, and broadsides.

New World Theater
Ameriville
by Universes, directed by Chay Yew
Thursday, April 30 - Friday, May 1, 8:00 pm
Bowker Auditorium, Umass
Ameriville is a cross-disciplinary, bi-lingual, multimedia exploration of what it means to be an American in the post-9/11 world of terror-level codes, the 'misinformation superhighway,' and media-fed xenophobia. Universes' unique brand of fushion theater gives new insight and urgency to the national re-examination of values, purpose, and ideals in the wake of 9/11 and in the midst of the so-called "war on terror." Inspired by the panic induced by the 1939 Orson Welles War of the Worlds radio broadcast, Ameriville maneuvers through contemporary issues including censorship, patriotism, the Katrina disaster, and the narrowing divide between church and state to expose "a disrobed Lady Liberty as she lies in the arms of mass media and technology, no longer sure of her own beliefs."

Center Series
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
50th-Anniversary Tour: A Special Event
Wednesday, May 13, 7:30 pm
Concert Hall
Exhilarating and endlessly inspirational, the extraordinary dancers of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater have dazzled audiences from New York City to China with their thrilling fusion of power, grace, and unparalleled artistry.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Screening of Alvin Ailey: Beyond the Steps    Sunday, May 3  5:00 pm    Herter
Global Gourmet  Let your passions fly: join us for a pre-performance dinner at the University Club & Restaurant.  Wednesday, May 13  5:00 pm    

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