19th annual BGSU ArtsX to celebrate the arts through movement with featured artist Fringe Society

The event is free, open to the public and will be held Dec. 2 from 5-9 p.m.

Bowling Green State University students, faculty, staff and the community will celebrate the arts through movement at the 19th annual ArtsX in beautiful, interactive displays of creativity and collaboration.

ArtsX, being held Dec. 2 from 5-9 p.m., will include exhibits that explore physical, visual and auditory movement through dance, theater, film, music compositions, literary works and visual artistic expression.

All activities are free and open to the public and will be held in the BGSU Fine Arts Center and the Wolfe Center for the Arts.

“This year's theme, Movement, invites artmakers to examine bodies and voices in motion, the flow of musical notes, the arcs of a story, the sweeps of images in paint, sculpture, metal and screen, and, of course, the ways the arts advance thought and cause. ArtsX celebrates it all,” said Abigail Cloud, a BGSU teaching professor in English and a member of the ArtsX committee.

The event’s featured artist is Fringe Society, a Detroit-based hybrid and experimental art collective. Fringe Society’s mission is to create works that spark thought around individual and collective roles in creating a more just and equitable future, according to their website.

For ArtsX 2023, Fringe Society has created a “Portal Sanctuary,” an intimate multi-sensory experience that includes weaving, projected images, a hologram, lighting and atmospheric sound.

Levon Kafafian of Fringe Society said people of all ages can experience the portal in various ways.

“Even if guests choose not to weave, witnessing weaving can be just as cathartic and engaging,” Kafafian said. 

Faculty, staff and student-driven, ArtsX promotes awareness of the arts’ positive impact on the local economy and communities.

ArtsX began in 2004 as an open house to showcase the work of students and faculty in the School of Art and has expanded to encompass the arts across the University. 

Today, ArtsX includes representation from the School of Art, College of Musical Arts, Department of Theatre and Film, Creative Writing program, University Libraries and the Arts Village Learning Community.

ArtsX has also included architecture, interior design and other areas that have arts touchstones. Student-created artwork, including ceramics, sculpture, glass, jewelry, photography, digital art and printmaking, will be available to purchase during the event.

“ArtsX is a thriving, vibrant event celebrating collaboration across all of the arts at BGSU,” Cloud said. “Students, faculty and staff exhibit their art and performance skills, side by side, and guests at the open-house style extravaganza get to join in and create art of their own.”