College Encourages UK Community to Find Art All Around

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 5, 2012) — From the stage to the street, the University of Kentucky College of Fine Arts presents its inaugural Find Arts Fest, Oct. 6-14, celebrating the world of arts on the university's campus. The arts are abundant at UK and Find Arts Fest seeks to bring attention to the myriad of exciting opportunities available to the students and the community.

Art is more than paintings and sculptures in a gallery or museums. Art is more than a play or concert on stage. Art is all around. The Find Arts Fest challenges students to find the art surrounding them and participate in it, exploring their creativity and appreciating the fun of the arts in ways they never imagined.

Find Arts Fest encourages students, faculty and staff to participate in the festivities by staging their own "arting" and/or attending some of the many events presented by UK College of Fine Arts programs and others on campus. Additionally, surprise arts events will be staged in unexpected places on campus throughout the coming week. From vocal performances to dance improvisations, these pop-up arts events aim to take the concept of public art to a new level.

Individuals looking to take in scheduled performances or exhibits by UK's talented students, faculty and staff have several options. The following UK College of Fine Arts events will be showing during Find Arts Week:

·       UK Opera Theatre's "The Phantom of the Opera," 7:30 p.m., Oct. 6 and 10-13, and 2 p.m., Oct. 13-14, at Lexington Opera House;

·       UK Department of Theatre's "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" ("Dangerous Liaisons)," 7:30 p.m., Oct. 11-13, and 2 p.m. Oct. 14, at Guignol Theatre;

·       "Mettle: The School of Art and Visual Studies Faculty Exhibition," noon-5 p.m., Oct. 6-7 and 9-14 (noon-8 p.m. on Oct. 12), at the Art Museum at UK;  

·       Outdoor Sculpture Tour (self-guided) beginning at the Art Museum at UK, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Oct. 10; and

·       Art Education Student Chapter’s ArtFall, noon to 3 p.m., Oct. 12, in the courtyard of Roselle Hall.

For a complete list of arts events and descriptions, visit the Find Arts Fest webpage at http://finearts.uky.edu/findarts.   

An integral part of the Find Arts Fest is a so-called "arting" competition, or performing spontaneous public acts of art. "Arting" is an act of art and can include painting a portrait with friends, performing a mini-concert solo or in an ensemble, or performing an excerpt of a play or dance work. Students are encouraged to take a photo or video of themselves or others creating or experiencing "spontaneous" art or "artings" on or around campus, and post on the College of Fine Arts' Facebook page at www.facebook.com/UKFineArts.

The winner of the "arting" competition will receive free passes to College of Fine Arts ticketed events for the rest of the 2012-13 academic year (some exceptions apply).

For more information on UK College of Fine Arts' Find Arts Fest, visit the college online at http://finearts.uky.edu/findarts or on Facebook or Twitter (#findarts).

The UK College of Fine Arts – comprised of the School of Art and Visual Studies, School of Music, Department of Theatre, Arts Administration Program, Singletary Center for the Arts, and The Art Museum at UK – presents hundreds of events annually, reaching tens of thousands of people on campus and in the community. While many of the student artists presented in these events are College of Fine Arts majors, many are pursuing degrees in other colleges, from biology to business to social work.