College of Arts + Architecture

In its first 10 years, Robinson Hall for the Performing Arts has proven itself to be an important venue to showcase the cultural offerings of the University to the campus, as well as the greater community. Recently, the College of Arts + Architecture held a special celebration to commemorate Robinson Hall’s 10th anniversary.

Named for Russell and Sally Dalton Robinson, the three-story, 118,000-square-foot facility contains classrooms, offices and performance and rehearsal spaces for the departments of dance, music and theatre.

First was football, and starting in fall 2015 the UNC Charlotte Marching Band will take the field. UNC Charlotte alumni Vickie and Gene Johnson have been the driving force behind the band, and they are donating $2 million to support the endeavor.

The Rowe Galleries will feature four artists in three shows during October.

The lower gallery will display “Evergreen: Vespiary,” featuring work by two guest ceramic artists: Valery Zimany and Daniel Bare, professors from Clemson University. The upper gallery will exhibit two independent shows “Heritage” by photographer and University of Virginia professor Pamela Pecchio and “Into the Screen: Still-Life Moving Image,” oil “still-life portraiture” paintings by artist Andrew Leventis.

“Passages,” an exhibit featuring work from local printmaker Adrian Rhodes, will be displayed through Tuesday, Oct. 21, in the Student Union Art Gallery. A free reception with the artist will be from 5 to 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 25.
Artwork in the exhibit explores internal conflict as reflected in the tension between rigid structural forms and organic, intuitive mark making.

A capacity crowd of campus and greater community members listened to readings by music historian James Grymes interspersed with poignant Yiddish folksongs and marches during a special event focused on Grymes’ book “Violins of Hope: Violins of the Holocaust – Instruments of Hope and Liberation in Mankind’s Darkest Hour.”  
The UNC Charlotte Office of University Communications extended the reach of the public event, held Sept. 11 in the Belk Theater of the Robinson Hall for the Performing Arts, through an Internet live stream; more than 300 viewed a portion of the live stream.

“Figures in Painting,” an exhibit that showcases artwork from students in the Department of Art & Art History, is on display through Wednesday, Sept. 17, in the Student Union Art Gallery.
The studio course “Figure in Painting” is an intermediate painting class that explores the human form as a vehicle for artistic expression. Students use acrylic paints mixed with a variety of other compatible media to observe and experiment with anatomical structure.

The McColl Center for Art + Innovation will celebrate its 15th anniversary with the presentation of “Arctic Utopia,” a major exhibition of mixed media sculptures, videos and site-specific installations by Marek Ranis, UNC Charlotte assistant professor of art and 1999 McColl Center alumnus.
The exhibit opens with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m., Friday, Sept. 19, and it will be displayed through Saturday, Nov. 22.

The UNC Charlotte Department of Music is soliciting suggestions for an exciting name for the University’s new marching band that will take the field in fall 2015. 
Submit suggestions online through 5 p.m., Monday, Sept. 29. The winning name will be announced on Thursday, Oct. 2, during a special ceremony to unveil the design for the new marching band building.

The College of Arts + Architecture, in partnership with the UNC Charlotte Center for Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Studies, will present “Stories and Music from the Violins of Hope” at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 11, in the Belk Theater of the Robinson Hall for the Performing Arts.
James Grymes, interim chair of the UNC Charlotte Department of Music, will read from his new book “Violins of Hope: Instruments of Hope and Liberation in Mankind’s Darkest Hour.” There will be performances of related music throughout the evening, and a book signing and reception will follow.

The Faculty Biennial 2014, an exhibition of exemplary works by 25 faculty members from the Department of Art & Art History, is being displayed in Rowe Galleries through Wednesday, Sept. 24. The wide-ranging exhibit features mediums that include ceramic sculpture, painting, digital drawing, video, photography and more that address concepts pertaining to loss, commercialism, violence, memory, history and perception.