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Some of the brightest minds from Texas A&M University\u2019s School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts<\/a> will take over the Rudder Theatre Complex this week, inviting the campus and community to witness creative works ranging from traditional sculpture and painting to video games and virtual reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From April 26-28, A&M\u2019s award-winning visualization program is celebrating its past and looking to the future at the 30th annual Viz-a-GoGo<\/a>, a sprawling exhibition showcasing the best works by undergraduate and graduate students. The event will also include a screening of student-produced short films and other media on April 27 at 7 p.m. in Rudder Theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the first Viz-a-GoGo since visualization united with the dance and performance studies programs to form the new school <\/a>in late 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think it\u2019s a really unique display of student creativity,\u201d said Toby Johnson, a recent graduate of the program. Johnson is one the \u201cVizionaries,\u201d a group of student volunteers who plan and organize the exhibition each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With hundreds of students submitting wildly different projects, it takes a discerning eye and plenty of long hours to choose the most outstanding pieces for display, said Isabella Bradberry, exhibition director and a visualization senior. This year, the team received around 650 submissions, and less than 300 will make the cut: \u201cThis is the best of the best,\u201d Bradberry said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the team celebrates three decades of Viz-a-GoGo, they are paying tribute to the previous artists and organizers who have made the event an enduring success, even revisiting the \u201cBack to the Future\u201d motif used for Viz-a-GoGo 20<\/a> back in 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This year\u2019s event, \u201cViz to the Future Part II,\u201d will showcase the continued growth of the program along with new advancements in technology and student achievement, Bradberry said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re bringing in different elements from the past but also looking forward to whatever Viz might be in the future,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity for alumni to visit and see what is going on within the program, but it\u2019s also our outreach to the university as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For visitors, the event offers a chance to explore the ever-expanding horizons of artistic expression, Bradberry said. As always, Viz-a-GoGo revels in the new, the exciting and the unexpected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think Viz-a-GoGo has a lot of potential to teach people things that they would never have known,\u201d she said. \u201cYou don\u2019t realize what all goes into an animation project, and the same can be said for gaming or virtual reality or interactive pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a dedicated community of current and former Viz students, the exhibition provides an opportunity to bond over shared experiences and passion for their craft. Johnson, who serves as this year\u2019s screening director, said seeing his classmates\u2019 projects on the big screen is always the perfect way to close out the semester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s a nice highlight to the year,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cYou have this huge group of people, almost like a movie premiere, watching all of the students\u2019 work. People are laughing and screaming, it\u2019s really fun and really rewarding to see.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Viz students and alumni can expect to see some familiar faces and a good number of inside jokes, Johnson said. The screening will be followed by an award ceremony recognizing the best works from each creative medium, along with an overall award for best in show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt its core, it’s a celebration of student work,\u201d Johnson said, noting that events like this help the program remain close-knit even as the visualization family grows larger each year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As Bradberry notes, \u201cIt can be a little unnerving to think about it growing so large, but at the same time, events like this can still happen and I think we can really up the quality of what we produce. As long as we have the resources to provide for that growth, I think Viz has super good potential in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Details: <\/strong>The exhibition is Wednesday, April 26 through Friday, April 28, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Rudder Exhibit Hall. Gaming and virtual reality projects will be available to play from 2 to 7 p.m. The screening is Thursday, April 27, at 7 p.m. at Rudder Theatre. Free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Photo: Isabella Bradberry and Toby Johnson discuss the setup for the Viz-a-GoGo exhibition Tuesday at the Rudder Exhibit Hall. Photo by Rob Clark.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnalogue Electronica\u201d is a showcase of composers and performers from the Electronic Music Composition course (PERF 318), taught by Dr. Will Connor. Students are introduced to a variety of analogue electronic instruments and asked to improvise and compose for them to create a final project. The instruments include analogue synthesizers, theremins, no-input mixing boards, step sequencers, Kaossilators and haunted boxes \u2014 noise-making devices the students designed and built themselves. The 90-minute concert will feature students playing their own compositions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Details:<\/strong> 7 p.m. at Rudder Theatre. Free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Related story:<\/strong> \u2018Analogue\u2019 Concert To Feature Students Playing Experimental Electronic Instruments<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The 30th<\/sup> edition of Viz-a-GoGo<\/a> is the visualization program\u2019s presentation of curated student work, including an exhibition of digital and traditional flatwork, photography, sculpture and interactive media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Details:<\/strong> The exhibition is April 26-28 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Rudder Exhibit Hall. Gaming and virtual reality projects will be available to play from 2 to 7 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The symposium will show the wide variety of creativity explored in the various disciplines within the School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Details:<\/strong> 10 a.m. at Rudder Forum. Free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The \u201cWaste Wear Wearable Arts Runway Show\u201d comes from the Dress in World Culture course (PERF 156), taught by Dr. Grace Adinku, which examines the social, psychological and cultural aspects of dress and appearance. Students are creating handcrafted, one-of-a-kind wearable arts dress designs using recyclable waste items including plastic, paper, metal and face masks, as well as clothing and textiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Details:<\/strong> 6:30 p.m. at Rudder Forum. Free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Live Art Student Showcase will feature projects created by students in Seminar in Performance Theory (PERF 460). Works will include encounters with \u201cexperiencing live,\u201d experiments in performer\/audience relationships, and explorations of the interwoven affective, embodied, cognitive and emotional experience of live performance. The students have been influenced by a wide range of artists and movements, from Dada to Bauhaus, Merce Cunningham and John Cage to Fluxus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Details:<\/strong> 1 p.m. at Rudder Forum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRhinoceros,\u201d Eugene Ionesco\u2019s play, translated by Derek Prouse, is the School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts\u2019 first theater production, and also its first collaboration with Blinn-Bryan Theatre Troupe. It is co-directed by Anne Quackenbush, Texas A&M lecturer, and Greg Wise, Blinn theater instructor. After three shows April 20-22 at Blinn-Bryan Student Center Theatre, \u201cRhinoceros\u201d now comes to Texas A&M as part of Venture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Details:<\/strong> April 27-29 at 7 p.m. at the Black Box Theater in the Liberal Arts and Arts and Humanities building. Tickets are $5, available at blinn.edu\/boxoffice<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Related story: <\/strong>Absurdist Comedy Sparks \u2018Rhinoceros\u2019 Collaboration With Blinn<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The 30th<\/sup> edition of Viz-a-GoGo<\/a> includes a theater screening to showcase time-based media, including animated and live-action films, game demos and CG renders. Awards known as \u201cthe Vizzies\u201d are announced at the end of the screening, one for each artistic medium and an overall award for best in show. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Details:<\/strong> 7 p.m. at Rudder Theatre. Free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dance program\u2019s annual \u201cPerpetual Motion\u201d performance will be in Rudder Auditorium for the first time. It features works by faculty members, students and guest artist Jane Weiner from Hopestone, Inc. in Houston. Students will perform \u201cSierra,\u201d a 23-minute dance created by Carisa Armstrong, associate professor and dance program director, and Christine Bergeron, clinical professor and associate dean for academic affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Details:<\/strong> April 27-28 at 7:30 p.m. at Rudder Auditorium. Tickets are $12; $6 for students, seniors and military, available at the MSC Box Office<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Related story: <\/strong>\u2018Perpetual Motion\u2019 Dance Event Gets Bigger Stage, Includes Return Of 23-Minute \u2018Sierra\u2019 Piece<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRhinoceros\u201d <\/strong>at 7 p.m. at the Black Box Theater in the Liberal Arts and Arts and Humanities building. Tickets are $5, available at blinn.edu\/boxoffice<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPerpetual Motion\u201d<\/strong> at 7:30 p.m. at Rudder Auditorium. Tickets are $12; $6 for students, seniors and military, available at the MSC Box Office<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nVenture Schedule<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Tuesday, April 25<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Analogue Electronica\u2019<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Wednesday, April 26<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Viz-a-GoGo exhibition<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Student Research and Creative Works Symposium<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Waste Wear Wearable Arts Runway Show\u2019<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Thursday, April 27<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Live Art Student Showcase<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Rhinoceros\u2019<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Viz-a-GoGo screening<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Perpetual Motion\u2019<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Friday, April 28<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Saturday, April 29<\/h2>\n\n\n\n