18 upcoming events with the ball state college of fine arts tag

The School of Art is proud to present Checkpoint: Interactive Artworks & Experimental Play , an exhibition by John C. Gonzalez.

The Ned and Gloria Griner Art Gallery
____________________________
January 7 to 29, 2026
Exhibition Reception, Gallery Talk and Art Performance: January 7, 4 to 6 p.m.

About the Artist

John C. Gonzalez is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice spans installation, sculpture, painting, performance, writing, music, game design, and socially engaged projects. Deeply collaborative in nature, his work often blurs the lines between artist, viewer, and participant, challenging conventional notions of authorship and production. Gonzalez frequently partners with individuals or institutions not traditionally associated with artmaking to create pieces that reflect shared labor, conversation, and experience. These conversations result in works that are as much about the process and relationships as they are about the final product. Through his ongoing exploration of labor, cooperation, and institutional critique, Gonzalez's practice offers a reflective and often playful lens on the social systems that shape artistic and everyday life. Whether building systems that critique their own fabrication, facilitating game-based art experiences, or searching for meaning in collective action, he consistently seeks to expand the role of the artist beyond the studio and into the shared spaces of work, play, and community. Gonzalez lives in Rhode Island and teaches drawing and game design at Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI.

The exhibition Checkpoint: Interactive Artworks & Experimental Play will include several interactive and game-adjacent artworks in the galleries. These works will include images, performance, and site-specific works that will solicit viewer engagement and provide space for unexpected connections and exchanges.

Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Friday: 10 A.M. - 4 P.M. Closed weekends and all Ball State breaks and holidays.

The School of Art is proud to present Checkpoint: Interactive Artworks & Experimental Play , an exhibition by John C. Gonzalez.

The Ned and Gloria Griner Art Gallery
____________________________
January 7 to 29, 2026
Exhibition Reception, Gallery Talk and Art Performance: January 7, 4 to 6 p.m.

About the Artist

John C. Gonzalez is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice spans installation, sculpture, painting, performance, writing, music, game design, and socially engaged projects. Deeply collaborative in nature, his work often blurs the lines between artist, viewer, and participant, challenging conventional notions of authorship and production. Gonzalez frequently partners with individuals or institutions not traditionally associated with artmaking to create pieces that reflect shared labor, conversation, and experience. These conversations result in works that are as much about the process and relationships as they are about the final product. Through his ongoing exploration of labor, cooperation, and institutional critique, Gonzalez's practice offers a reflective and often playful lens on the social systems that shape artistic and everyday life. Whether building systems that critique their own fabrication, facilitating game-based art experiences, or searching for meaning in collective action, he consistently seeks to expand the role of the artist beyond the studio and into the shared spaces of work, play, and community. Gonzalez lives in Rhode Island and teaches drawing and game design at Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI.

The exhibition Checkpoint: Interactive Artworks & Experimental Play will include several interactive and game-adjacent artworks in the galleries. These works will include images, performance, and site-specific works that will solicit viewer engagement and provide space for unexpected connections and exchanges.

Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Friday: 10 A.M. - 4 P.M. Closed weekends and all Ball State breaks and holidays.

The School of Art is proud to present Checkpoint: Interactive Artworks & Experimental Play , an exhibition by John C. Gonzalez.

The Ned and Gloria Griner Art Gallery
____________________________
January 7 to 29, 2026
Exhibition Reception, Gallery Talk and Art Performance: January 7, 4 to 6 p.m.

About the Artist

John C. Gonzalez is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice spans installation, sculpture, painting, performance, writing, music, game design, and socially engaged projects. Deeply collaborative in nature, his work often blurs the lines between artist, viewer, and participant, challenging conventional notions of authorship and production. Gonzalez frequently partners with individuals or institutions not traditionally associated with artmaking to create pieces that reflect shared labor, conversation, and experience. These conversations result in works that are as much about the process and relationships as they are about the final product. Through his ongoing exploration of labor, cooperation, and institutional critique, Gonzalez's practice offers a reflective and often playful lens on the social systems that shape artistic and everyday life. Whether building systems that critique their own fabrication, facilitating game-based art experiences, or searching for meaning in collective action, he consistently seeks to expand the role of the artist beyond the studio and into the shared spaces of work, play, and community. Gonzalez lives in Rhode Island and teaches drawing and game design at Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI.

The exhibition Checkpoint: Interactive Artworks & Experimental Play will include several interactive and game-adjacent artworks in the galleries. These works will include images, performance, and site-specific works that will solicit viewer engagement and provide space for unexpected connections and exchanges.

Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Friday: 10 A.M. - 4 P.M. Closed weekends and all Ball State breaks and holidays.

The School of Art is proud to present Checkpoint: Interactive Artworks & Experimental Play , an exhibition by John C. Gonzalez.

The Ned and Gloria Griner Art Gallery
____________________________
January 7 to 29, 2026
Exhibition Reception, Gallery Talk and Art Performance: January 7, 4 to 6 p.m.

About the Artist

John C. Gonzalez is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice spans installation, sculpture, painting, performance, writing, music, game design, and socially engaged projects. Deeply collaborative in nature, his work often blurs the lines between artist, viewer, and participant, challenging conventional notions of authorship and production. Gonzalez frequently partners with individuals or institutions not traditionally associated with artmaking to create pieces that reflect shared labor, conversation, and experience. These conversations result in works that are as much about the process and relationships as they are about the final product. Through his ongoing exploration of labor, cooperation, and institutional critique, Gonzalez's practice offers a reflective and often playful lens on the social systems that shape artistic and everyday life. Whether building systems that critique their own fabrication, facilitating game-based art experiences, or searching for meaning in collective action, he consistently seeks to expand the role of the artist beyond the studio and into the shared spaces of work, play, and community. Gonzalez lives in Rhode Island and teaches drawing and game design at Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI.

The exhibition Checkpoint: Interactive Artworks & Experimental Play will include several interactive and game-adjacent artworks in the galleries. These works will include images, performance, and site-specific works that will solicit viewer engagement and provide space for unexpected connections and exchanges.

Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Friday: 10 A.M. - 4 P.M. Closed weekends and all Ball State breaks and holidays.

About

Enjoy a concert of standard jazz favorites and original compositions with the Ball State University Jazz Ensembles in honor of alum and trumpet player Tom Shah. The ensembles are under the direction of Mark Buselli.

Learn more about the Ball State University Jazz Ensembles.

Program

To be announced.

Tickets

Tickets available through the College of Fine Arts Box Office located at Sursa Hall. 

Prices

• General Public: $8 in advance / $10 at the door
• Seniors: $5 in advance / $7 at the door
• BSU Faculty/Staff: $5 in advance / $7 at the door
• Students: free* in advance / $5 at the door
  *One (1) free student ticket per ID is available in advance (before 5 p.m. on the day of the concert) at the College of Fine Arts Box Office

Purchase Options

• ONLINE
• Phone: 765-285-8749
• In person: Monday through Friday from Noon to 5 p.m., or starting 1 hour before the performance

**Please note: As part of our commitment to sustainability, all College of Fine Arts tickets are paperless and are accessible via email confirmation. Your confirmation email contains your digital tickets which can be scanned at the door from your mobile device, or you can print your digital tickets at home to be scanned. There is no need to visit Will Call prior to the performance.

Parking

Parking is available in the McKinley Parking Garage (entrance on Ashland Avenue) located immediately south of Sursa Hall. Metered parking is available on the first floor of the garage until 7 p.m. at which time parking is free.

Directed by Veronica Santoyo

Original Dramaturgy by Diana Grisanti

February 6-8, 13-14 at 7:30 p.m. | February 14 at 2:30 p.m. | Oakwood 154

It's the day of The Big Game, and the citizenry is aflutter. The football bros are hungry for blood, the ESL kids are hungry for knowledge, and the hunger strikers are just hungry. Meanwhile, Nubu, a newcomer to our world, considers the meaning of life. When the The Big Game gets cancelled, a group of intrepid weirdos decides to throw an epic DIY costume party—a ball! Balls Balls Balls is a strange and exuberant new work that asks, “Can you imagine a world where we all make bread and break bread together?”

Written by award-winning playwright Alice Tuan, Balls Balls Balls was commissioned by the Ball State Department of Theatre and Dance. We’ll present the script as an on-book reading with choreography. No play is complete without an audience, so we invite you—yes, you!—to participate in the developmental process. Each performance will be followed by a talkback with the playwright and production team. Come take part in the future of American theatre!

Commissioned by the Department of Theatre and Dance of Ball State University

Tickets

Tickets are available through the College of Fine Arts Box Office located at Sursa Hall in person, by phone at 765-285-8749, or online.

General Public: $15 in advance, $17 at the door

Faculty/Staff/Students/Seniors: $12 in advance, $14 at the door

Directed by Veronica Santoyo

Original Dramaturgy by Diana Grisanti

February 6-8, 13-14 at 7:30 p.m. | February 14 at 2:30 p.m. | Oakwood 154

It's the day of The Big Game, and the citizenry is aflutter. The football bros are hungry for blood, the ESL kids are hungry for knowledge, and the hunger strikers are just hungry. Meanwhile, Nubu, a newcomer to our world, considers the meaning of life. When the The Big Game gets cancelled, a group of intrepid weirdos decides to throw an epic DIY costume party—a ball! Balls Balls Balls is a strange and exuberant new work that asks, “Can you imagine a world where we all make bread and break bread together?”

Written by award-winning playwright Alice Tuan, Balls Balls Balls was commissioned by the Ball State Department of Theatre and Dance. We’ll present the script as an on-book reading with choreography. No play is complete without an audience, so we invite you—yes, you!—to participate in the developmental process. Each performance will be followed by a talkback with the playwright and production team. Come take part in the future of American theatre!

Commissioned by the Department of Theatre and Dance of Ball State University

Tickets

Tickets are available through the College of Fine Arts Box Office located at Sursa Hall in person, by phone at 765-285-8749, or online.

General Public: $15 in advance, $17 at the door

Faculty/Staff/Students/Seniors: $12 in advance, $14 at the door

Directed by Veronica Santoyo

Original Dramaturgy by Diana Grisanti

February 6-8, 13-14 at 7:30 p.m. | February 14 at 2:30 p.m. | Oakwood 154

It's the day of The Big Game, and the citizenry is aflutter. The football bros are hungry for blood, the ESL kids are hungry for knowledge, and the hunger strikers are just hungry. Meanwhile, Nubu, a newcomer to our world, considers the meaning of life. When the The Big Game gets cancelled, a group of intrepid weirdos decides to throw an epic DIY costume party—a ball! Balls Balls Balls is a strange and exuberant new work that asks, “Can you imagine a world where we all make bread and break bread together?”

Written by award-winning playwright Alice Tuan, Balls Balls Balls was commissioned by the Ball State Department of Theatre and Dance. We’ll present the script as an on-book reading with choreography. No play is complete without an audience, so we invite you—yes, you!—to participate in the developmental process. Each performance will be followed by a talkback with the playwright and production team. Come take part in the future of American theatre!

Commissioned by the Department of Theatre and Dance of Ball State University

Tickets

Tickets are available through the College of Fine Arts Box Office located at Sursa Hall in person, by phone at 765-285-8749, or online.

General Public: $15 in advance, $17 at the door

Faculty/Staff/Students/Seniors: $12 in advance, $14 at the door

The School of Art invites you to an artist talk with Cheeny Celebrado-Royer as a part of our Visiting Artists and Designers series! This talk is free and open to the public.

About the Artist

Cheeny Celebrado-Royer (b. Naga City, Philippines) is a multidisciplinary artist working with found and discarded materials to create installations, sculptures, and drawings that explore precarity, memory, and displacement. Drawing from decaying architectures and chroma-key aesthetics, she maps fragments of space—wreckage, green or blue tape—into constellations of unstable time and place. Her work reimagines drawing as a form of mapping, assembling familiar-yet-elusive icons into landscapes shaped by liminality. Through building from residue, she explores what might resemble home—transient, cartographic, unresolved.

She is currently a studio fellow in the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program and serves as an Associate Professor in Experimental and Foundation Studies at the Rhode Island School of Design. She holds an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art (Mount Royal School of Art). Her work has been exhibited at institutions including the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Walters Art Museum, Brattleboro Museum and Art Center, Columbia College, Louisiana Tech University School of Design, and the RISD Museum.

Just a spontaneous jam session at Nashville’s Station Inn between a few friends. All women, all seasoned players out to make a little noise on a weeknight. What happened next was alchemy: the room lit up, the crowd roared and by the time the night was over, something had shifted. The landscape of bluegrass, and the women who played it, would never be the same.

A GRAMMY-nominated, IBMA-sweeping, Grand Ole Opry-starring force. But for all the stages they played and accolades they earned, they were still often reduced to a single line: all-female bluegrass band. It was true, yet reductive. Because Sister Sadie was never about labels. They were about the music. They are about the music. The stories. The fire. And the unrelenting drive to speak their truth through a tradition that hadn’t always made room for it. 

From gut-punch ballads to high-octane instrumental parts, All Will Be Well is the album Sister Sadie was always meant to make. Not for the industry. Not for the silencers. But for the women they’ve become and the world ready to listen.  Because yes, Sister Sadie is still a bluegrass band. But they’re also more.  They are country with claws. Americana with muscle. Harmony-driven and hellbent on telling the truth. And they’re not asking for permission anymore.  They're making room. They're taking names.  And they're just getting started.

World-class artists and musicians brought together in the Coffee and Cabernet Series. Experience these internationally renowned artists in the intimate setting of Pruis Hall and enjoy a selection of wine, craft beer or coffee while attending the performance. 

Directed by Veronica Santoyo

Original Dramaturgy by Diana Grisanti

February 6-8, 13-14 at 7:30 p.m. | February 14 at 2:30 p.m. | Oakwood 154

It's the day of The Big Game, and the citizenry is aflutter. The football bros are hungry for blood, the ESL kids are hungry for knowledge, and the hunger strikers are just hungry. Meanwhile, Nubu, a newcomer to our world, considers the meaning of life. When the The Big Game gets cancelled, a group of intrepid weirdos decides to throw an epic DIY costume party—a ball! Balls Balls Balls is a strange and exuberant new work that asks, “Can you imagine a world where we all make bread and break bread together?”

Written by award-winning playwright Alice Tuan, Balls Balls Balls was commissioned by the Ball State Department of Theatre and Dance. We’ll present the script as an on-book reading with choreography. No play is complete without an audience, so we invite you—yes, you!—to participate in the developmental process. Each performance will be followed by a talkback with the playwright and production team. Come take part in the future of American theatre!

Commissioned by the Department of Theatre and Dance of Ball State University

Tickets

Tickets are available through the College of Fine Arts Box Office located at Sursa Hall in person, by phone at 765-285-8749, or online.

General Public: $15 in advance, $17 at the door

Faculty/Staff/Students/Seniors: $12 in advance, $14 at the door

Directed by Veronica Santoyo

Original Dramaturgy by Diana Grisanti

February 6-8, 13-14 at 7:30 p.m. | February 14 at 2:30 p.m. | Oakwood 154

It's the day of The Big Game, and the citizenry is aflutter. The football bros are hungry for blood, the ESL kids are hungry for knowledge, and the hunger strikers are just hungry. Meanwhile, Nubu, a newcomer to our world, considers the meaning of life. When the The Big Game gets cancelled, a group of intrepid weirdos decides to throw an epic DIY costume party—a ball! Balls Balls Balls is a strange and exuberant new work that asks, “Can you imagine a world where we all make bread and break bread together?”

Written by award-winning playwright Alice Tuan, Balls Balls Balls was commissioned by the Ball State Department of Theatre and Dance. We’ll present the script as an on-book reading with choreography. No play is complete without an audience, so we invite you—yes, you!—to participate in the developmental process. Each performance will be followed by a talkback with the playwright and production team. Come take part in the future of American theatre!

Commissioned by the Department of Theatre and Dance of Ball State University

Tickets

Tickets are available through the College of Fine Arts Box Office located at Sursa Hall in person, by phone at 765-285-8749, or online.

General Public: $15 in advance, $17 at the door

Faculty/Staff/Students/Seniors: $12 in advance, $14 at the door

Directed by Veronica Santoyo

Original Dramaturgy by Diana Grisanti

February 6-8, 13-14 at 7:30 p.m. | February 14 at 2:30 p.m. | Oakwood 154

It's the day of The Big Game, and the citizenry is aflutter. The football bros are hungry for blood, the ESL kids are hungry for knowledge, and the hunger strikers are just hungry. Meanwhile, Nubu, a newcomer to our world, considers the meaning of life. When the The Big Game gets cancelled, a group of intrepid weirdos decides to throw an epic DIY costume party—a ball! Balls Balls Balls is a strange and exuberant new work that asks, “Can you imagine a world where we all make bread and break bread together?”

Written by award-winning playwright Alice Tuan, Balls Balls Balls was commissioned by the Ball State Department of Theatre and Dance. We’ll present the script as an on-book reading with choreography. No play is complete without an audience, so we invite you—yes, you!—to participate in the developmental process. Each performance will be followed by a talkback with the playwright and production team. Come take part in the future of American theatre!

Commissioned by the Department of Theatre and Dance of Ball State University

Tickets

Tickets are available through the College of Fine Arts Box Office located at Sursa Hall in person, by phone at 765-285-8749, or online.

General Public: $15 in advance, $17 at the door

Faculty/Staff/Students/Seniors: $12 in advance, $14 at the door

Solas is hailed by The Boston Globe as “the finest Celtic ensemble this country has ever produced” and The Wall Street Journal as “an Irish traditional band bearing all the marks of greatness.”

Since forming in New York City in 1995 they have been a galvanizing element in the Irish music scene – a lightening rod of talent and inspiration that set new standards for musicianship, repertoire, and intensity. Over the course of twelve critically acclaimed albums and endless international touring, Solas brought their love and respect for the traditions of Irish music, and their sense of melodic and instrumental adventure to the world. 

In 2017, after a remarkable two decade career, Solas decided it was time for a break. Now, after eight years, the break is over and Solas is back and ready to celebrate their 30th Anniversary! The musical adventure continues in 2025. 

World-class artists and musicians brought together in the Coffee and Cabernet Series. Experience these internationally renowned artists in the intimate setting of Pruis Hall and enjoy a selection of wine, craft beer or coffee while attending the performance. 

The Barricade Boys Broadway Party! Get ready to have your socks knocked off and your heart racing with The Barricade Boys!

Direct from London, these four dazzling performers are taking the world by storm with their electrifying show that will have you tapping your feet, belting out your favorite tunes, and grinning from ear to ear. From the heart-wrenching emotion of Les Misérables to the toe-tapping harmonies of the Jersey Boys, The Barricade Boys will take you on a musical journey like no other. Throw in a mix of the greatest pop, rock, swing, and Motown hits of all time, and The Barricade Boys create the ultimate Broadway party musical mashup!

Seamlessly merging hits from Pop, Rock and Oldies to Americana and Country, the genre smashing, vocal/instrumental trio, TAKE3, lives at the intersection where art and pop culture collide.

Described by audience goers as a mini–Trans Siberian Orchestra experience, TAKE3 is nothing short of exhilarating and has electrified audiences at hundreds of venues and performing arts centers throughout the U.S. Known for their infectious and down to earth onstage personalities, this threesome leaves their indelible mark on captivated crowds around the country. 

TAKE3’s interactive lighting shows, comedic stories of their journey from scales in conservatory practice rooms to pop music in packed stadiums, come together in unforgettable experiences that have fired up concert goers all over the nation.

World-class artists and musicians brought together in the Coffee and Cabernet Series. Experience these internationally renowned artists in the intimate setting of Pruis Hall and enjoy a selection of wine, craft beer or coffee while attending the performance. 

Duende Libre is an award-winning jazz trio whose original music combines jazz virtuosity with roots rhythms from Cuba, Brazil, and West Africa into a “strikingly authentic blend.” Each having apprenticed with direct descendants and master musicians of these traditions, they consider themselves disciples of their teachers. The result: A euphoric new jazz that honors its historical roots, pushing open the boundaries of genre to invoke a powerful sonic freedom.

Comprising core members Alex Chadsey (bandleader and keys), Jeff Busch (percussion), and Farko Dosumov (bass), Duende Libre is collectively influenced by the trio’s direct connections with master musicians including Clinton Fearon, Dudley Nesbitt, Dave Hassel, Jesse Bannister, Chucho Valdés, Carlos Santana, Martha Gonzalez, Quetzal Flores, and Joe Santiago.

The band effectively—and uniquely—calls attention to the space between contemporary jazz traditions and broader musical influences from around the globe. Informed by a cumulative century of devoted study, they answer to this with emphatic (and euphoric) sonic interpretations that effectively enrich the collective language of jazz itself.

World-class artists and musicians brought together in the Coffee and Cabernet Series. Experience these internationally renowned artists in the intimate setting of Pruis Hall and enjoy a selection of wine, craft beer or coffee while attending the performance.