The Grunwald Gallery at Indiana University Bloomington is pleased to present the Fall 2021 BFA Thesis Exhibition. This show will feature work created by graduating Bachelor of Fine Arts students in the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design at Indiana University.

The thesis exhibition is a culmination of undergraduate study. The exhibition will feature student work from a variety of studio areas: ceramics, fibers, graphic design, metal-smithing and jewelry design, painting, photography, and printmaking. Additionally, the exhibit will be captured on Matterport 3D technology, and can be viewed from the Grunwald Gallery website after the exhibit ends.

In Remaking Islam in African Portugal, Michelle C. Johnson explores the religious lives of these migrants in the context of diaspora. Since Islam arrived in West Africa centuries ago, Muslims in this region have long conflated ethnicity and Islam. But as they increasingly encounter Muslims not from Africa, as well as other ways of being Muslim, they must question and revise their understanding of “proper” Muslim belief and practice. Johnson maintains that this cultural intersection is highly gendered, contrasting Guinean Muslim men’s pilgrimages to Mecca with women’s “culture clubs”, among other examples. Remaking Islam in African Portugal highlights what being Muslim means in urban Europe and how Guinean migrants’ relationships to their ritual practices must change as they remake themselves and their religion.

TWO WAYS TO EXPERIENCE:
Drop a note here and we will send you the ZOOM link
OR
watch LIVE on the Writers Guild at Bloomington page
WEDNESDAY, DEC 1
6pm EST
featuring
poets Jonie McIntire, Jason Ryberg, John Dorsey
music by Seth Andrew Davis

Sponsored in part by the Indiana Arts Commission, Bloomington Arts Commission, and the Bloomington Urban Enterprise Association

JONIE McINTIRE is author of Semidomesticated (winner of Red Flag Poetry chapbook contest, 2021), Beyond the Sidewalk (Nightballet Press, 2017), and Not All Who Are Lost Wander (Finishing Line Press, 2016) and poetry editor at Of Rust and Glass. She hosts a monthly reading series called Uncloistered Poetry from Toledo, Ohio. Learn about her at https://www.joniemcintire.net.

JASON RYBERG is the author of thirteen books of poetry, six screenplays, a few short stories, a box full of folders, notebooks and scraps of paper that could one day be (loosely) construed as a novel, and, a couple of angry letters to various magazine and newspaper editors. He is currently an artist-in-residence at both The Prospero Institute of Disquieted P/o/e/t/i/c/s and the Osage Arts Community, and is an editor and designer at Spartan Books. His latest collection of poems is The Ghosts of Our Words Will Be Heroes in Hell (co-authored with Damian Rucci, John Dorsey, and Victor Clevenger, OAC Books, 2020). He lives part-time in Salina, KS with a rooster named Little Red and a billygoat named Giuseppe and part-time somewhere in the Ozarks, near the Gasconade River, where there are also many strange and wonderful woodland critters.

JOHN DORSEY lived for several years in Toledo, Ohio. He is the author of several collections of poetry, including Teaching the Dead to Sing: The Outlaw’s Prayer (Rose of Sharon Press, 2006), Sodomy is a City in New Jersey (American Mettle Books, 2010), Tombstone Factory, (Epic Rites Press, 2013), Appalachian Frankenstein (GTK Press, 2015), Being the Fire (Tangerine Press, 2016), Shoot the Messenger (Red Flag Poetry, 2017), Your Daughter’s Country (Blue Horse Press, 2019), Which Way to the River: Selected Poems 2016-2020 (OAC Books, 2020), and Afterlife Karaoke (Crisis Chronicles, 2021). His work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and the Stanley Hanks Memorial Poetry Prize. He was the winner of the 2019 Terri Award given out at the Poetry Rendezvous. He may be reached at [email protected].

SETH ANDREW DAVIS is a performer, composer, improviser, & electronic musician from the Kansas City area. He is an avid collaborator with choreographers, video artists, animators, playwrights, and his artistic influences run the gamut from pop, free-jazz, hip-hop, and electronic music to film, literature, visual art, and contemporary culture, blurring the lines between genre, composer, and performer. In 2020, together with saxophonist Michael Eaton, he co-founded Mother Brain Records, a Midwest-based label focused on releasing works by experimental & improvised music artists.

Andy McKee is among the world’s finest acoustic guitarists. His youthful energy and attention to song structure and melodic content elevates him above the rest. He entertains both the eye and the ear as he magically transforms the steel string guitar into a full orchestra via his use of altered tunings, tapping, partial capos, percussive hits, and a signature two-handed technique.

McKee’s crossover success has helped him to achieve millions upon millions of YouTube viewers, underscoring his emergence as one of today’s most unique and influential artists. His song, “Drifiting” became one of the first YouTube viral videos with almost 60 million views. He has been featured as a cover story in both Acoustic Guitar Magazine in the U.S. and Acoustic Magazine in the UK, and is also the figurehead of the unique Guitar Masters tours. He also curates his own annual guitar camp called Musicarium. McKee’s tour dates have taken him through Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America, including tours with legendary acts including Prince and Dream Theater.

Live performances of Andy’s have become a point of fascination with his loyal followers. So, in late 2015, Andy decided it was time to release a live album. Featuring tracks from his entire catalog, Live Book was recorded live in December 2015 at The Melting Point in Athens, GA, the Red Clay Music Foundry in Duluth, GA, and Workplay in Birmingham, AL. McKee went through the recordings from all three shows and selected the finest takes of each set. Reflecting on the song choices, he looks to provide fans the chance to relive their favorite show. He strives to showcase the energy he creates for those who haven’t been able to attend a show and new fans alike.

“I’ve always wanted to do a live album; for quite a few years I’ve felt it’s something that has been missing from my collection of releases,” says McKee. “This album will feature some of my YouTube hits like ‘Drifting’ and ‘Rylynn’, some songs from my 2014 EP Mythmaker, and a cover of a Michael Hedges song called ‘Because It’s There’ played on harp guitar that I haven’t released before.”

McKee is the first artist to be signed CGP Sounds, the record label founded by fellow guitarist Tommy Emmanuel. “I’m honored to be a part of his label. I heard Tommy 15 years ago at a festival in Kansas and was blown away by his playing and performing, and I still am,” McKee stated. “To be the first person on his label is surreal, and I’m excited and proud to be a part of it.”

Trevor Gordon Hall will open the show!

Doors open at 7pm for this reserved seating event. The estimated length of the show is 120 minutes. Wearing a mask is strongly encouraged and appreciated!