MGA’s 2025 Arts Festival Focuses On “The Arts & Social Change”
Author: News Bureau
Posted: Thursday, March 13, 2025 12:00 AM
Categories:
Pressroom | School of Arts and Letters | Students | Faculty/Staff | Events- Public
Macon, GA
Developed around the theme of “The Arts & Social Change,” the 2025 Arts Festival hosted by Middle Georgia State University’s School of Arts & Letters will focus on topics ranging from graphic novels to Nazi art plunder to the work of Flannery O’Connor, as well as a variety of music, drama, and art.
Among the special guests will be Dan Fraga, a comic and storyboard artist currently working on DC Comics’s “Doom Patrol.” He will talk to students as part of the Student Interdisciplinary Conference on Friday, April 11.
Festival events are scheduled from Monday, March 24 to Friday, April 11 on Middle Georgia State’s (MGA’s) Macon and Cochran campuses. All events are free and open to the public.
“This year’s festival will explore how the arts help shape and shift ideas about the world,” said Dr. Sheree’ Keith, associate dean of the School of Arts & Letters. “The festival will celebrate unique voices in theater and performance, music, art, and literature and the impact of those voices on both culture and society.”
The lineup of events is below. Additional details are at https://www.mga.edu/arts-letters/events/cultural-programming/arts-festival.php:
Monday, March 24 – Friday, April 11: Graffiti Board, Macon & Cochran campus libraries. Come by the library and check out the GRAFFITI BOARD! Join the conversation. Every week there is a new question. Your participation matters. Scan the QR code* at the Graffiti Board.
Monday, March 24 – Sunday, March 30: Flannery O’Connor Exhibit, Macon Campus Writing Center. Check out Georgia writer Flannery O’Connor’s life and works.
Monday, March 24: MGA’s Commercial Combo, 6 p.m., Student Life Center Amphitheater (if rain, Arts Complex Rehearsal Hall). Students enrolled in spring 2025’s commercial combo ensemble will perform a variety of songs they have prepared throughout the semester.
Tuesday, March 25: Michael Gillies Art Exhibition (through Monday, April 21) & Opening Ceremony, 5-6 p.m., Arts Complex Atrium, Macon Campus. Gillies, an adjunct art instructor at MGA and MFA graduate of Louisiana State University, will exhibit his work.
Tuesday, March 25: Flannery Fest, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Macon Campus library. Join the festivities and celebrate Middle Georgia author Flannery O’Connor’s life and works! The event features Dr. Melva Jones’s talk, “Flannery O'Connor and Lupus,” Flannery-themed games and snacks, ark Ensley’s talk, “Photography of O'Connor's Fashion," and Flannery-themed crafts.
Tuesday, March 25: “Displaced Person” discussion, hosted by the English Studies Organization (ESO) in conjunction with Flannery Fest, 2 to 3 p.m., Macon Campus Writing Center. Morality, refugees, peacocks, and murder! Join the ESO for a discussion of Flannery O’Connor’s famed novella.
Tuesday, March 25: “Displaced Person” discussion, hosted by the English Studies Organization (ESO) in conjunction with Flannery Fest, 5 to 6 p.m., Cochran Campus library, 3rd floor presentation space. Morality, refugees, peacocks, and murder! Join the ESO for a discussion of Flannery O’Connor’s famed novella.
Tuesday, March 25 – Thursday, March 27: “The Exonerated,” 7 p.m., Russell Hall, Cochran Campus. MGA faculty member John Iverson directs this play based on the true experiences of six death row inmates. Dive into the lives of men and women wrongfully convicted and explore their tumultuous experience on death row and journey to freedom.
Wednesday, March 26: “Graphic Novels & Social Change,” 3 p.m., Cochran Campus library, 3rd floor presentation space. From “Maus” to “Bitch Planet” to “Destroyer” and more, join Dr. Lisa Bro, Dr. Crystal O’Leary Davidson, and Dr. Tracie Provost for a roundtable and open discussion of the ideas and issues that contemporary graphic novels explore.
Monday, March 31: Empty Bowl Open Studio, noon to 5 p.m., Russell Hall, Cochran Campus. he Empty Bowl Open Studio is a service-learning project in cooperation with and to benefit the Middle Georgia Community Food Bank. We will host an open studio day in the Ceramic Studio where students, faculty and the community can come help us make bowls for this event that will occur in November 2025 during National Hunger and Homelessness Week. These bowls will be sold at this event with donated chili and soups as a fundraiser for the food bank.
Monday, March 31: Jackson Griffith performance, 6 p.m., Russell Hall Auditorium, Cochran Campus. Drawing inspiration from musicians such as Otis Redding, Billy Joel, and the Lumineers, multi-talented singer, songwriter, and artist Jackson Griffith – an MGA grad - will delight with a performance of his original music. Griffith finds “beauty in small moments, in the little stories,” and his songs "explore the human experience through my own stories.”
Tuesday, April 1: Student Juried Art Awards Ceremony, 5 p.m., Arts Complex, Macon Campus.
Thursday, April 3: Jozee Moton, 3:30 p.m., Student Life Center Amphitheater (if rain, Arts Complex Rehearsal Hall). Taking inspiration from such artists as Prince, Jill Scott, and Erykah Badu, join Atlanta-based Jozee Moton for a captivating performance of original R&B and soul music.
Thursday, April 3 - Saturday, April 5: "Elephant’s Graveyard," 6:30 p.m., Arts Complex Theater, Macon Campus. This play, directed at MGA by Cindy Sams, tells the true tale of the tragic collision of a struggling circus and a tiny town in Tennessee, which resulted in the only known lynching of an elephant. Set in September of 1916, the play combines historical fact and legend, exploring the deep-seated American craving for spectacle, violence, and revenge.
Monday, April 7-Friday, April 11: Student Juried Art Exhibition, Peacock Gallery, Russell Hall, Cochran Campus. A showcase of MGA’s most talented artists and their incredible artwork up for “best of” awards in their mediums.
Monday, April 7: "The Role of Arts in Social Change," 5:30 p.m., Macon Campus library. MGA faculty members Dr. Yookyoung Choi, Terry Reckart, and Talyor LoForti will give talks on how arts can impact on social change, followed by an open discussion.
Tuesday, April 8: "Nazi Plunder: Art & the Holocaust," 3 p.m., Cochran Campus library, 3rd floor presentation space. Join Dr. Tracie Provost as she discusses how the Nazis plundered art from Europe’s Jewish community and what happened to it.
Wednesday, April 9: Empty Bowl Open Studio, noon to 4 p.m., Arts Complex Atrium, Macon Campus. At this event students, faculty and community can come to the Macon MGA Campus to help us glaze the bowls for the Empty Bowl event that will occur in November 2025 during National Hunger and Homelessness Week. These bowls will be sold at this event with donated chili and soups as a fundraiser for the food bank.
Wednesday, April 9: "Ghost Town: The Hebron Story," 5:30 p.m., Arts Complex, Macon Campus. This film lays out a factually objective history of the land of Palestine. This documentary film provides us with the effects of the creation of the state of Israel and the occupation of the region leading to the demise of the Palestinian people. Bernstein’s film provides a deeply meaningful experience for the viewer. She brings into context the struggles of Palestine and Israel as she explores personal accounts, third party perspectives, as well as individuals and private organizations who are attempting to bring about change.
Thursday, April 10: "Monster, She Wrote" and "Toil and Trouble" with Melanie Anderson and Lisa Kröger, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Microsoft Teams. As part of this year’s Student Interdisciplinary Conference focusing on "Pop Culture & the American South," authors Melanie Anderson and Lisa Kröger will talk about their works and the interdisciplinary scholarship that informs them.
Thursday, April 10: “The Power of Illusion: Drag and Gender Performativity,” 6:30 p.m., Arts Complex Theater, Macon Campus. Join Dr. Billy Wooten for a talk and discussion about drag performance and its social relevance.
Thursday, April 10: "ARTivism: Drag for Social Change," 7:30 p.m., Arts Complex Theater, Macon Campus. Our mission statement is to celebrate the power of performance as a catalyst for social change, using drag artistry to challenge norms, amplify diverse voices, and inspire a more inclusive and equitable world. Through this show, we aim to ignite conversations, foster understanding, and empower individuals to embrace their true selves while advocating for a brighter, more accepting, and promising future.
Friday, April 11: "Iron Bar: Stay Valuable," 11:30 a.m., Arts Complex Theater, Macon Campus. The Student Interdisciplinary Conference presents plenary speaker Dan Fraga. Fraga is a comic book artist and writer who’s worked on such titles as “Spider-Man,” “Wolverine,” “Bloodstrike,” “Black Flag,” “Black Panther,” the web comic “The Grave,” and, currently, DC Comics’s “Doom Patrol.” Fraga has also worked as a storyboard artist on various productions, such as commercials for Hershey's and Victoria's Secret, and music videos for Justin Timberlake, Usher, Lady Gaga, and Beyoncé. In conjunction with his work as a storyboard artist, Fraga worked on set design, visual effects supervision, and 2nd unit directing. Fraga also directed television, including the second and third seasons of HBO’s "The Ricky Gervais Show."