Georgia Tech will host the third annual Tech Arts Festival, a showcase of the creative spirit through student, faculty, and guest performances, events, and exhibitions, from February 18 – March 7, 2015. Music, dance, theatre, digital, literary and visual arts flourish at the technological research university, inspiring and reflecting research and education.  The Festival includes works that showcase the convergence of art and technology, and also works that are solely artistic in nature.

 Among the many highlights of the Festival are the Guthman Musical Instrument Competition, DramaTech Theatre’s production of Steve Yockey’s Cartoon, talks by artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph and RadioLab’s Jad Abumrad, Witches’ Night Off - a cabaret with Jennifer Holliday and the cast of Wicked, and performances by dancer Jonah Bokaer, TAP-A-CE-TIC, Georgia Tech School of Music ensembles, and fiddlers Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy.  Art exhibitions include the Clough Art Crawl, the Sounds of Atlanta, Student View, Deliberation from Dashboard’s Dialogue: Conflict/Resolution, and A Gathering of Continents – A Rare Exhibit of Joan Blaeu’s Grooten Atlas. The Festival will be held at venues across the Georgia Tech campus.  A brief schedule follows; please arts.gatech.edu for a detailed listing.

Performances and events slated for the TechArts Festival include:

• Sounds of Atlanta - A multi-sensory exhibit of sound and visual art, the culmination of a year-long residency with GT students and Grammy-nominated recording and mixing engineer KY Engineerin’. Special guest: the Viewpoints AI Installation – the virtual dance partner that learns to improvise dance with you in real time. Bring a smartphone and headphones. Ferst Center. Free.
• Cartoon- This Steve Yockey dark comedy is a fast and furious fable about violence -- both the cartoon and real-life kind. Presentedby the GT student theatre DramaTech. Ticket required. DramaTech. Feb. 19-21.
• Deliberation Panel Discussion- As part of a citywide exhibition exploring conflict and resolution, artist Ruth Stanford has sandblasted the grand jury testimony from the Ferguson/Michael Brown case onto the exterior of a police car, on view in the Ferst Center Plaza. Panel discussion. Free. Ferst Center. Feb. 19.
• Open Mic Night by Musicians Network. Free. Under the Couch, Student Center. Every Thursday Feb. 19 and 26, March 5.
• Guthman Musical Instrument Competition – An annual event to find the world’s best new ideas in musicality, design and engineering. Also featured is the Guthman Student Design Challenge. Free. Klaus Atrium. Feb. 20.
• GTDA Swing Dance – This 1920s-themed event swings to the sounds of The Savoy Kings with Charleston and costume competitions. Open to all ages with admission charge.  Student Center Ballroom. Feb. 20.
• Jonah Bokaer: Why Patterns and Recess – Ferst Center Presents seriesperformance featuring dancer/choreographer Jonah Bokaer and company. Why Patterns begins with a single ping-pong ball triggering four dancers and hundreds of balls dropping in controlled chaos. Also featured is Bokaer's Recess. Ticket required. Ferst Center. Feb. 21.
• Khayaal 2015 - The GT student group Aarohi presents a South Asian classical music festival promoting the art and culture of South Asia. Ticket required. Academy of Medicine. Feb. 21.
• TAP-A-CE-TIC LIVE dance performance by an extraordinary troupe of tappers. Ticket required. Ferst Center. Feb. 22.
• Master Class with Choreographer Jonah Bokaer – Free. Ferst Center. Feb. 23.
• DramaTech play reading of Empty Rooms – Annie Harrision’s new play about a woman in the tech industry. Hall Building Room 102. Free. Feb. 24.
• Georgia Tech Jazz Ensemble pays homage to the Big Band era with guest vocalist Taryn Newborn and swing dancers from the Georgia Tech Dance Association. Free. Ferst Center. Feb. 24.
• McEver Poetry Reading - Visiting Poets Nguyen Phan Que Mai, Bruce Weigl, and Bruce McEver in a poetry reading presented by Poetry@Tech. Free. Kress Auditorium, Robert C. William Paper Museum. Feb 26.
• Georgia Tech Symphonic, Concert and Percussion Ensembles - Enjoy an evening of “A Little Jazz.”  Free. Ferst Center. Feb. 26
• A Gathering of Continents - A Rare Exhibit of Georgia Tech's Deluxe Editions of Joan Blaeu's Grooten Atlas, presented by Georgia Tech’s Price Gilbert Memorial Library, the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, and the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking. Opening Feb. 27.
• Concert: Chicken Dinner Faceplant, Naan Violence, Dolly Llama, Daniel Hearn –Tickets at Door. Free with Buzzcard.  Under the Couch, Student Center.Feb. 27
• Let’s Try This – Tech’s comedy improv troupe performs an entirely unscripted show complete with lights, sound, costumes, props, and an improvised set based on audience suggestions. Free. DramaTech. Feb. 27
• The Georgia Tech Symphony Orchestra and Choirs present Mendelssohn's "Symphony-Cantata,” Lobgesang (Hymn of Praise).  Free. Ferst Center. March 1.
• Witches’ Night Off – A Wicked Cabaret - Members of the national touring company of WICKED host this evening which includes a guest performance by Tony and Grammy Award winner Jennifer Holliday. GT choral group Infinite Harmony also performs. Proceeds benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and Joining Hearts, Inc. Ticket required. Ferst Center. March 2.
• A Conversation with artist Jeff Mather - A conversation with Drew Charter School’s STEAM Artist-in-Residence Jeff Mather and guests. Mather is a site sculptor, a community-based public artist and a teaching artist. Free. Ferst Center. March 3.
• A Conversation with Marc Bamuthi Joseph - One of America’s vital voices in performance, arts education, and artistic curation, Joseph presents scenes from his show “the break/s,” discusses the community-based outdoor festival LIFE IS LIVING, and shares research from his recent travels to South Africa for his new show about soccer: /peh LO tah/.  Free. Ferst Center. March 4.
• An Evening with RadioLab’s Jad Abumrad - The host of NPR’s Radiolab discusses science, storytelling and “gut churn” in this evening that explores the secrets of creative success. The first offering in GT’s new distinguished speaker series Arts in Conversation. Ticket required. Ferst Center. March 5.
• Clough Art Crawl - Opening event featuring GT student artwork and performances. Free. Clough Commons. March. 5.
• WREK’s Sci Fi Lab presents A Night in the Lab - A regular offering on WREK, Sci Fi Lab covers the best in science fiction, from movies and television to literature and actual science. This performance will be recorded live. Free. Ferst Center. March 6.
• S.T.E.A.M. Expo - The Georgia Tech Society of Black Engineers hosts an expo on how engineering and technology enhance the arts, and to show the creativity and ingenuity that is required in ground-breaking technology. Register at http://goo.gl/Fih2PX . March 7.
• Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy - Two of the world’s most celebrated fiddlers in a whirlwind of Celtic music, dance and song. Ticket required. Ferst Center. March 7.

Visual Arts Exhibitions slated during the TechArts Festival include:

• Sounds of Atlanta - GT Students explore local neighborhoods through sound and visual art working with artist in residence KY Engineerin’. Opening reception Feb. 18, then open daily. Free.  Ferst Center.
• Student View – Students in the GT Writing and Communications Program connect to the curriculum through visual and digital art and music. Opening reception Feb. 20, then open daily. Free. Ferst Center.
• Clough Art Crawl– The annual showcase of student artwork features a wide array of visual arts, spoken word and music performances. Opening reception and performances Feb. 26, then open daily. Free. Clough Commons.
• Deliberation-As part of a citywide exhibition exploring conflict and resolution, artist Ruth Stanford has sandblasted the grand jury testimony from the Ferguson/Michael Brown case onto the exterior of a police car displayed in the Ferst Center Plaza. Free. Panel discussion in Ferst Center Feb. 24.
• A Gathering of Continents - A Rare Exhibit of Georgia Tech's Deluxe Editions of Joan Blaeu's Grooten Atlas, presented byGeorgia Tech’s Price Gilbert Memorial Library and the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking. Opening Feb. 27.

CLASSES
Master Class with Choreographer Jonah Bokaer

Feb. 23, 7 pm, Ferst Center. Free

Classes at Paper and Clay
in the Student Center:

Paper and Clay events require registration at http://techstuff2.gatech.edu/

Pottery Wheel Intro                    Feb. 20                         12-2 pm

Beginner's Sewing                     Feb 21 and 28              1-3 pm

Alterations 101                          Feb 28 and March 7       4-6 pm

Stained Glass                           Feb 22 and March 1       1-4 pm

A detailed schedule of performance and exhibit times and locations is available at www.arts.gatech.edu. 

Tickets:

DramaTech’s Cartoon
DramaTech Box Office - 404-894-3481 www.dramatech.org.

Jonah Bokaer, TAP-A-CE-TIC, Witches’ Night Off, Jad Abumrad,
Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy
Ferst Center Box Office - 404-894-9600 www.ferstcenter.org

GT Swing Dance
www.gtda.gtorg.gatech.edu

Khayaal 2015
www.khayaalmusic.com/tickets

All events and programs are subject to change, and additional events will be included at www.arts.gatech.edu.  Most events and exhibitions are free and open to the public. Please check www.arts.gatech.edu for the latest Festival schedule. Festival information and directions are also available at the Box Office in the GT Student Center and in the Ferst Center throughout the festival.

 The TechArts Festival is sponsored by the Georgia Tech Office of the Provost, the Arts Advisory Board, the Council of the Arts and the Office of the Arts.  Exploring the arts through events and activities, academic instruction, research, community partnerships and outreach demonstrates Georgia Tech’s commitment to the arts as an important part of its strategic plan. For more information please call the Office of the Arts at 404-894-2787