Experience Blue Like You Never Have Before

Utah State University’s Caine College of the Arts presents the fifth annual Arts Week Jan. 20-24. The week features an art sale, many art exhibit openings, food trucks, a networking breakfast, masquerade ball and more all in celebration of the arts.

“Arts Week is a wonderful opportunity for the college to connect with the community,” said Craig Jessop, dean of the CCA. “This week is full of events for all audiences to enjoy.”

This year’s Arts Week opens with “Cocoa with the CCA” and “Design Star” Wednesday, Jan. 21. An “ARTsySTEM: Particle Falls” lecture with digital media artist Andrea Polli is planned for the Caine Performance Hall Thursday, Jan. 22. ARTsySTEM is an interdisciplinary project aimed at incorporating art and design methodologies toward scientific data collection, analysis, interpretation and design. Throughout the year its activities will emphasize utilizing art and design for data collection, education and solution design.

Arts Week will also feature “Experience Blue” on Friday at the Chase Fine Arts Center. The night includes a presentation of this year’s outstanding seniors from each of the college’s three departments, several art exhibit opening receptions, a photo booth and food trucks in the CCA courtyard.

“One of the biggest events planned by the college’s Student Art Council this year is the third annual Masquerade Ball in the Kent Concert Hall on Friday,” said Sam Wright, student arts senator.

The “Experience Blue” evening concludes with the Masquerade Ball at 9 p.m.

“Arts Week is an exciting annual event that gives members of the campus and community the opportunity to get to know our programs and the great work of our faculty and students,” said Laura Gelfand, head of the art and design department at USU. “We will be offering a range of programs, including exhibitions and lectures that we hope will be of interest to members of the USU community and the local community as well.”

A networking brunch for students is Saturday, Jan. 24, at the Haight Alumni Center on the USU campus. The brunch provides an opportunity for students to connect with working alumni.

“The entire Department of Art and Design has been involved in planning the culminating Arts Week event, ‘Experience Blue,’” said Gelfand. “Blue, USU’s color, is the theme that will tie all aspects of the evening together. The halls will be blue and there will be art installations and interactive activities to engage the entire family throughout the Chase Fine Arts Center building. I really hope to see members of the community of all ages come to check out this evening and fun event.”

In recognition of the arts and the academic departments in the Caine College of the Arts, the A atop Old Main will shine blue Jan. 23 in recognition of Arts Week 2015.

Here is a complete schedule of Arts Week 2015:

Jan. 21

Cocoa with the CCA -- 11 a.m.-2 p.m., TSC Sunburst/International Lounge. Sip hot cocoa while you shop a student art sale from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. The sale includes many works by the students who displayed artwork during last October’s Artoberfest.

Deisgn Star -- 6 p.m., TSC Sunburst/International Lounge. Join the interior design students for a Design Star competition at the TSC. The interior design program has a national reputation for excellence and has been accredited longer than any other program in Utah.

Jan. 22

ARTsySTEM: Particle Falls, lecture by Andrea Polli -- 5 p.m., Caine Performance Hall. Particle Falls is a large-scale, real-time visualization of air-quality data created by Andrea Polli, digital media artist. On a background of falling blue light, spots of bright, fiery color emerge and crackle, representing the presence of fine particulate matter, as detected by a nearby air monitor. Fewer bright spots over the falls mean fewer particles in the air.

Jan. 23

Paint My World Blue: A Children’s Exhibition -- 5 p.m., Chase Fine Arts Center. The exhibit includes art from local middle and elementary school students. The exhibition is intended to reach out to children and get them involved with the arts.

Experience Blue -- 7-9 p.m., Atrium, Chase Fine Arts Center. Openings for exhibitions by the college’s nationally and internationally known faculty, as well as a juried exhibition with work by graduate and undergraduate students, all with the theme of blue. This year’s outstanding seniors will also be announced, and the evening includes the presentation of Renew, Restore, Reimagine: The Campaign to Transform the Chase Fine Arts Center and Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art. The Waffle Iron and food trucks will be parked in the CCA courtyard throughout the evening.

Crafting a Continuum: Rethinking Contemporary Craft Opening Reception -- 7-9 p.m., Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art. The exhibition features artists working in a wide range of media and processes to help viewers think beyond the boundaries of what is known as traditional art and what is known as craft.

Masquerade Ball -- 9 p.m., Kent Concert Hall, Chase Fine Arts Center. The third annual ball is DJed by Colton Packard and admission is free. Masks will be available to purchase for $1.

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Writer: Whitney Schulte, 435-797-9203, whitney.schulte@usu.edu

Contact: Denise Albiston, 435-797-1500, denise.albiston@usu.edu