The UTRGV College of Fine Arts calendar for the 2022-2023 school year is filled with about 100 dances, concerts and art exhibits in Edinburg and Brownsville.
This year’s calendar will feature the School of Art & Design, the School of Music, University Productions, the Dance and Creative Writing program and the Center for Latin American Arts.
“We really have a wonderful season and I’m really looking forward to seeing our students and our guest artists and faculty in their performances,” College of Fine Arts Dean Jeffrey Ward told The Rider.
He said the Patron of the Arts program has been rebranded from Patron of the Arts to UTRGV Arts, an umbrella term for all events from the College of Fine Arts, and includes a new website that will be a one-stop shop for events offered across all arts programs.
“The motivation for that is me coming in new as the dean and trying to learn about the college and I had a little bit of trouble on, like, ‘Where do I go on the website if I want to go see this?’” he said. “So, it really seemed apparent that how much easier it would be for patrons if we just put it all in one place.”
The website will feature a user-friendly interface that will help people see all the events on UTRGV campuses in chronological order or using a filtering system and with options to buy tickets.
Ward said people who want to continue supporting the arts at UTRGV can do so through the Patron of the Arts program, which will be featured on the website as well. Donations will have certain levels and benefits, including complimentary admission to events.
Last semester, Ward stepped inside various UTRGV College of Fine Arts classes and learned about all the varieties of arts at UTRGV, especially in disciplines outside of his musical background.
From experiencing folklórico for the first time to jewelry-making and sculpture classes, Ward said this has made him excited for what is to come this year.
“I’m going to be a kid in a candy store,” he said. “My first time for this, my first time for that. … I’m really excited for Monday and to get the year started.”
The first event of the year is the Engaged Scholar Symposium, which began Aug. 22 and continues until Sept. 10 at the Charles & Dorothy Clark Gallery on the Edinburg campus and from Sept. 11-3o in the Rusteberg Gallery at Texas Southmost College in Brownsville.
The School of Art & Design hosts events featuring undergraduate and graduate students and exhibitions showcasing local high school talent at the Charles & Dorothy Clark Gallery in Liberal Arts Building South in Edinburg, the Visual Arts Gallery in the Edinburg Visual Arts Annex and in the Rusteberg Gallery at TSC.
Ed Pogue, director of the School of Art and Design, said the “New Works by High School Seniors” exhibits, scheduled Nov. 1-12 in the Charles & Dorothy Clark Gallery and Nov. 1-20 in the Rusteberg Gallery, will be a great resource for recruitment to the local high schools.
“It’s a great outreach … to area high school students who have an interest in the visual arts, of what we offer and also what it means to be an artist and how to show their work,” Pogue said.
In the School of Music, performances will feature a Guest Artist Series, Distinguished Artist Series and the Student Performance Series. The first performance of the year, “Playing with Restriction: Kate Ledger,” is a part of the Guest Artists Series in collaboration with the UTRGV Center for Latin American Arts, and will take place at 7 p.m. Sept. 8 in the UTRGV Performing Arts Complex on the Edinburg campus. Ledger is a pianist who has performed across Europe and the United Kingdom.
Aida Cuevas, “The Queen of Ranchera Music,” will perform with UTRGV’s Mariachi Aztlán on Nov. 9 in the TSC Performing Arts Center in Brownsville and Nov. 11 in the UTRGV Performing Arts Complex on the Edinburg campus.
The UTRGV Theatre Department will produce four plays this year, two in each semester starting with “Frankenstein,” adapted from the novel by Mary Shelly, with the first show slated at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14 in the Albert L. Jeffers Theatre in ELABS.
Theatre Department Chair Peter Mikolasky said the department always likes to start off with some sort of Halloween-related show to kick off the year in October.
“I really enjoy the scary stuff,” Mikolasky said. “So, ‘Frankenstein’ will be a nice little shocker there, but all the shows we do here are good choices and I look forward to seeing all of them.”
Auditions for “Frankenstein” will be held Sept. 6 and 7 at the Albert L. Jeffers Theater with callbacks Sept. 9.
The UTRGV Dance Program will host Senior Project Concerts, Ballet Folklórico and faculty showcases in the Performing Arts Complex, with the exception of “Alegría 2023,” which will take place in the TSC Performing Arts Center in Brownsville from Feb. 3 to March 26.
Admission to all art exhibits is free. To purchase tickets for concerts, dance performances and plays, visit utrgv.edu/arts.
