CFA to be site of art extravaganza

The Center for the Arts will be the site of a lively celebration of the arts on Oct. 26 as the UB Art Gallery and the Department of Visual Studies present the Big Draw and Open Studio Extravaganza.

Both events will take place from 4-8 p.m. throughout the CFA.

UB’s Big Draw activities mark the first time the university has taken part in “The “Big Draw,” an international celebration of drawing involving hundreds of inclusive, participatory drawing events held throughout October in schools, museums and galleries around the world.

UB’s Big Draw is being held in conjunction with the exhibition “Falling Through Space Drawn by the Line,” on view at the UB Art Gallery through Dec. 8. The group exhibition explores how drawing can lure us into imagined spaces, through field of abstractions and into recollections and observations of lived experiences.

The idea behind the Big Draw is to create an experimental space to test ideas and strategies for drawing, which leads to fun and zany expressions of creativity. More than 15 artist-led participatory drawing activities, many with a Halloween theme, will be offered throughout the CFA employing a range of subjects, materials and tools. Among them are cookie decorating, fashioning unique drawing tools, cartooning, mask making and drawing and dancing.

UB’s Big Draw will take place during the Open Studio Extravaganza showcasing performances, installations, film screenings and sculpture by students in the departments of Architecture, Media Study, Music, Theater and Dance, and Visual Studies.

As part of the extravaganza, master’s degree candidates in the Department of Visual Studies will open the doors of their studios in the Center for the Arts and talk about their work with members of the public.

The full schedule of drawing activities, as well as open studios, performances, artist installations and screenings, may be viewed on the UB Art Gallery website.