Arts Come Alive
This Spring at SU
By Dr. Maarten Pereboom
Dean, Fulton School of Liberal Arts
While researching my book History and Film: Moving Pictures and the Study of the Past, I was able to merge two of my deepest interests: history and the arts. At their root, the two are difficult to separate.
Don’t believe me? Try this: Every American learns in grade school about the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Close your eyes and picture that historical event. The image you’re most likely thinking of is John Trumbull’s masterpiece, Declaration of Independence, which hangs in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.
Without Trumbull’s painting (which actually depicts the presentation of the document before the Continental Congress, not its signing), such a scene would be difficult to imagine. Remember, there were no cameras in 1776. The Statue of Liberty? The Lincoln Memorial? That’s art, as well.
At Salisbury University, we understand that the arts are important for a well-rounded life. For that reason, we are proud to offer over 400 cultural and educational events to the public each year.
April and May are exciting times for the arts on campus. From April 24-27, the SU Dance Company presents its annual spring concert, featuring professional and student choreography.
SU voice students perform opera classics in a talk show setting with scenes by John Wesley Wright during the SU Opera Workshop presentation Talk Opera! Curtain is 8 p.m. Friday, April 25; 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday, April 26; and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 27, in the Great Hall of Holloway Hall.
The Music Department’s annual Spring Music Festival is May 4-10, also in Holloway Hall Auditorium. The Salisbury and University chorales, directed by Dr. William Folger, inaugurate the series Sunday, May 4, followed by the Salisbury Pops, directed by Lee Knier, on Tuesday, May 6, and the SU Jazz Ensemble, directed by Brian Perez, on Thursday, May 8. Admission to all performances is free.
The festival culminates with the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra, directed by Dr. Jeffrey Schoyen, Saturday, May 10. The concert features guest pianist Gloria Chien playing Piano Concerto No. 4 by Beethoven. For advance tickets visit the Guerrieri University Center Information Desk or the SSO website at www.SalisburySymphonyOrchestra.org.
One of my proudest accomplishments as dean of the Fulton School has been to help establish the SU Art Galleries — Downtown Campus. Through Friday, April 18, we are showcasing textile sculptures by Korean-American artist Eun Kyung Suh in the exhibit “untold stories,” as well as works by Estonian artist Pusa, whose paintings, drawings and illustrations focus on little things, from sidewalk cracks to bubbles.
The downtown gallery hosts its second annual Art War competition during this year’s Salisbury Festival on Saturday, April 26. Visitors will have the opportunity to vote on their favorite works created that day by competing artists. Also look for our performing artists that day on the Plaza.
The next week, the exhibit “Head On: New Sculptures by Corinne Beardsley” opens in the gallery space, featuring ceramic and mixed-media sculptures through Saturday, June 21. It is joined by “Memories in Clay: Works by Margaret Boozer and the Eastern Shore Hospital Center Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Patients” from May 16-June 21. Receptions for all exhibits occur during the Salisbury Arts & Entertainment District’s monthly Third Friday festivities.
There are exciting things happening at our campus galleries, as well. Student artworks fill the University Gallery of Fulton Hall and the Electronic Gallery in the Teacher Education and Technology Center during our annual Senior Fine Arts Show from April 14-26 and Senior Graphic Design Show from May 5-17.
Award receptions are part of the celebration. Call for information. (P.S. Admission to all of SU’s art galleries is free.)
The University also welcomes two prominent speakers in April. Academic, author, critic and feminist Camille Paglia discusses two radical 20th-century art movements during her presentation “Dada and Surrealism” 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 1, in Holloway Hall Auditorium. Paglia is the author of six books, including the bestselling Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Ford continues SU’s Writers-on-the-Shore series 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, in the Wicomico Room of the Guerrieri University Center. His critically acclaimed novels include The Sportswriter, Independence Day, The Lay of the Land and his latest, Canada.
The arts thrive at SU when they have community support. You are invited to come see what SU has to offer. For more information call 410-543-6030. For a full listing of events, visit the SU website at www.salisbury.edu.
We hope to see you soon!
