More than 1,000 �鶹ӳ����ý students and faculty members will participate in the festival of performing and visual arts that will showcase studio art, music, theatre, dance, gaming, animation, photography and film. This is the first time all the �鶹ӳ����ý artistic endeavors can be experienced in one place, and all activities are free and open to the public.

The week also will provide invited high school music and theater students unique access to workshops led by �鶹ӳ����ý faculty members and an opportunity to showcase their talents during select performances at a state-of-the-art venue.

“We’re presenting the depth and breadth of �鶹ӳ����ý’s arts units to Orlando, taking them off campus and presenting them in one of the best spaces in the southeast,” said Jeff Moore, director of the �鶹ӳ����ý School of Performing Arts and artistic director of the festival. “Also, this shows how arts integration across all disciplines happens at �鶹ӳ����ý. This creative environment is necessary to develop community outreach.”

Events are still being added to the �鶹ӳ����ý Celebrates the Arts schedule, but some of the highlights will feature:

*  Icarus at the Edge of Time. The �鶹ӳ����ý Symphony Orchestra will perform the music of composer Phillip Glass with an accompanying movie by Al & Al, based on a children’s book by Columbia University physicist Brian Greene about a boy traveling in outer space who challenges the power of a black hole. Friday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m.

Kate Mulgrew, who portrayed Capt. Katharyn Janeway in the Star Trek: Voyager TV series, will provide live narration for the fable.

The Icarus presentation is part of a National Science Foundation project that seeks to broaden the participation of students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) research activities, and each year �鶹ӳ����ý organizes some STEM activities in an artistic way. This event will be an interdisciplinary arts-and-sciences collaboration involving the School of Performing Arts and the College of Sciences. “It is an excellent example of the integration of science, literature, and the performing and visual arts,” said Debra Reinhart, �鶹ӳ����ý assistant vice president for Research and Commercialization.

*  Several musical collaborations are planned with �鶹ӳ����ý partners. The Flying Horse Big Band will perform a cabaret with the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, themed “Shakespeare in Love” (Saturday, April 11, at 8 p.m.); �鶹ӳ����ý Choirs will provide the vocals for the Orlando Repertory Theatre’s production of Civil War Voices, which uses diaries and letters to tell the true stories of people who lived through the war (several matinee productions throughout the week); and the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra will hold a rehearsal for Tosca with an instructional class for voice students following.

*  Theatre �鶹ӳ����ý performances will include scenes from Nine, Hair, class projects, alumni cameos, and scenes from students who have been nominated for Kennedy Center Irene Ryan Acting awards. The Theatre �鶹ӳ����ý Dance showcase will feature a selection of dance pieces choreographed and performed by �鶹ӳ����ý students and faculty members.

*  Music concerts will include performances from the Collide Percussion Music Festival, �鶹ӳ����ý Symphonic Band, �鶹ӳ����ý choruses, and the chamber and wind ensembles.

*  Students in the School of Visual Arts and Design will have works from digital media, film, animations, games and studio arts showcased on every floor at the Dr. Phillips Center. SVAD faculty will present lectures on the arts and will be available for portfolio reviews from high school students. A Game Jam will be held so patrons can watch games being developed during a 24-hour period.

* The Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy also will demonstrate the interactive development process of video-game design. Final products and artwork will be on display showcasing the works of students and professionals.

* Performances will be scheduled for select high school musicians. There also will be clinics and workshops for the participating musicians. Schools that would like to participate can contact Kelly Miller, coordinator of music education, at Kelly.Miller@ucf.edu.

Organizers of the festival hope to expand its length and scope in coming years.

“We are using this opportunity to share the products and performances of our university students and faculty. We want the world to know that �鶹ӳ����ý invests in the arts, and this festival makes that statement,” Moore said. “This celebration is a showcase for �鶹ӳ����ý to share the return on that investment with the city and the entire Central Florida region. We are looking forward to this inaugural event and sharing �鶹ӳ����ý’s arts activities, both on and off campus, with everyone for years to come.”

Visit  for more information and updated scheduling. All events are free, but tickets are required for many of the programs. Tickets will be available on the website later this month.

Snap! Orlando is a five-day photography celebration showcasing the work of renowned international and national photographers, as well as images from emerging local talent. The event and its programs are designed to inspire and galvanize a community of art enthusiasts, from novice to seasoned collector, around a shared passion for the photographic medium.

Events run from Wednesday, May 4, to Sunday, May 8, at different venues across Central Florida, including �鶹ӳ����ý’s Center for Emerging Media (CEM) in downtown Orlando.

A student finalist reception Saturday, May 7, will feature �鶹ӳ����ý students’ work on display in Gallery 500 at CEM. The overall Student Photography Contest Winner will receive a prize package worth $2,000 courtesy of Colonial Photo & Hobby.

Globally renowned photographers also will be speaking at �鶹ӳ����ý’s CEM Saturday.

�鶹ӳ����ý Art faculty member E. Brady Robinson is offering a free lecture on her work from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 5, at the Cornell Fine Arts Museum at Rollins College in Winter Park.

See a schedule of all events during the celebration on .

But they did. Last week, the �鶹ӳ����ý senior’s designs were on display at the NBC Experience Store, located in New York City’s Rockefeller Center.

Gordon’s dresses were created for a socially conscious project she was assigned in the fall for an Image, Culture and Society course.

“I usually shoot fashion,” Gordon said. “I wanted to pair the idea of keeping the environment clean with fashion and photograph it in an editorial manner.”

When the class ended, Gordon decided to sell her dresses online, with the hope that someone would find a use for them. She put them for sale on Etsy, an online outlet for artists selling handmade goods.

“I didn’t want to throw them away, but I didn’t really have space for them,” Gordon explained. “I put them online on the off chance that someone might want to buy or wear one of them to prom or something.”

Three months later, she was contacted by Etsy and NBC. Twice a year, the network hosts an environmental project that promotes recycling and green living. NBC partnered with Etsy and created a contest seeking photos of interesting recycling projects.

Although Gordon hadn’t entered her photos in the contest, her work caught the attention of NBC. Her dresses were showcased as part of the network’s observance of Earth Week.

“I hope that people saw my dresses in the NBC window and were inspired to think of recycling in a new way,” said Gordon. “Being ‘green’ can be fun!”

Prizes will be awarded in each of the following categories:

Contests Awards:

The team will accept submissions from April 30-May 3. For more details about the rules and to register, visit: or call 407.823.3477.

“Places, Spaces & Traces” will feature the work of Jeanay Fullerton, James Hall and Sarah Stead, who are scheduled to graduate in May. The exhibition opens Wednesday, March 17, in the �鶹ӳ����ý Art Gallery on the main campus, and runs through Monday, March 29.

An opening reception at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 18, will be free to the public.

Fullerton received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Stetson University in 2007.  With a traditional film-based background, she depicts abstract and layered imagery in her work that undermines the importance of the “decisive moment.”

Coming from the �鶹ӳ����ý with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Sculpture, Hall now creates illusory worlds using a combination of sculpture and photography. In his scenes, he compares and contrasts mythic narratives, from classic Greek lore to contemporary film.

Stead received her Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art from Rollins College in 2007.  Concentrating in digital photography, Stead uses a methodical approach when creating a photograph. Her current series, “Architectural Zen,” focuses on beautifying banal structures by photographing them at night with artificial light.

For more information about �鶹ӳ����ý’s MFA in Studio Art and the Computer Program, click .

Gallery Information and Parking: Admission to the 2010 MFA Studio Art and the Computer Exhibition is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The �鶹ӳ����ý Art Gallery is located in the Visual Arts Building at the �鶹ӳ����ý. Parking is available for $5. For more information, please visit the gallery’s .

Allen will give a presentation entitled “Against All Odds: Women Around the World Demand Justice” at 3 p.m. in the Cape Florida Ballroom of the Student Union. She also will display some of her work as a photojournalist covering many global issues. The event is free and open to the public.

To read more about Allen’s presentation and prior work, click here.

Wayne is a dentist by profession and has been a professional photographer for the past 15 years. He now shoots for Corbis and Alamy agencies. He taught photography with the Great American Photography Weekends workshop group and also at Disney Institutes. Many of his images have been featured in national publications such as Outdoor Photographer. He has traveled extensively throughout six continents, capturing their natural beauty. Nikon has been his camera system of choice for 35 years. Wayne still leads workshops to various locations and can be reached at this .

The exhibit is on display through July 31, 2009 and is located on the main (2nd) floor of the �鶹ӳ����ý Library.

The Library is open to the public and the �鶹ӳ����ý community seven days a week, excepting major and university holidays. More information regarding hours and holiday closures can be found on the Library’s . For more information, please call 407-823-5340 or e-mail chinshaw@mail.ucf.edu.

The �鶹ӳ����ý ChinaVine , “Expressions of China”, opened this week at �鶹ӳ����ý Cocoa with 30 selected works from students’ travels through the rural villages of Shandong Province and the larger cities of Jinan, Beijing and Shanghai.

The ChinaVine project is a collaboration between �鶹ӳ����ý and the University of Oregon, along with two universities in China, Shandong University of Art and Design and Beijing Normal University.  The project is dedicated to teaching Chinese customs and folk culture through modern technology including art, film and digital media.

The exhibit showcases photographs by four �鶹ӳ����ý students: Ian Hernand, Blair Remington, Tomas Valladares, and Sharon Weaver.

“Expressions of China” was previously on display at the �鶹ӳ����ý Burnett Honors College and the University of Oregon. The exhibit will run through June 1 at �鶹ӳ����ý Cocoa in the BCC/�鶹ӳ����ý Joint-Use Library and will then move to an Orange County library.