Mason Arts Board, Center for the Arts
Agenda
September 11, 2024, 8:30-10:15 a.m.
- Welcome – Victoria Salmon, AAMB Chair
- Updates – V. Salmon
a) Description of morning’s activities
b) Website link – Mason Arts Board | College of Visual and Performing Arts
- Committee Reports
a) Audience Engagement – Paulette Miller, Chair
b) Finance – Annie Bolger, Treasurer
c) Development – Vicki Salmon and Susan Graziano, Senior Director of Development
d) Governance – Molly Grimsley, Chair
e) Arts by George! – Annie Bolger, Chair
- Dean’s Report – Dean Rick Davis reports on Mason/CVPA
- Around CVPA – Department, Program Directors’ written reports
- Presentation – Dean Rick Davis and Whitman Brown, Chief Financial Officer – CVPA Strategic Plan
- Open Discussion – Comments/Questions on the College’s Plan and the Board’s new Strategic Plan draft work to begin at the November 13 meeting.
- New Business/Announcements
- Adjourn
- Next Meeting: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8 – 8:30AM TO 1PM
Attendees
Annie Bolger, Mike Brown, Gardner Gillespie, Charniele Herring, Bob Purks, Victoria Salmon, Jay Speer, Rose Mary Flores Troche, Edward Weiner, Rick Davis, Whitman Brown, James Casey, Adrienne Godwin, Susan Graziano, Rachel Ingle, Mary Lechter, Linda Monson, Sang Nam, Michael Nickens, Caitlyn Rivero, Emily Rusch, Susan Shields, Julie Thompson
Zoom attendees:
Laila Abdul-Hadi Jadallah, Nancy Jean-Louis, Kimberly Macedo, Willy Meaux, Ida Portland, Anika Tené, Isaac W.K. Thweatt, Mary Zigo, Jenna Day, Jennifer Disano, Linda Harber, Barbara Jacksier, Djola Branner, Niyati Dhokai, Carolyn Hays, Kirstin Franko, Cynthia Fuchs, Karalee Dawn MacKay, Emily Schneider, Lauren Wagner
Regrets:
Kelly Harms, Molly Grimsley, Val McWhorter, Paulette Miller, Sadhvi Subramanian, Janice Sutera Wolfe, Zoë Charlton, Kristin Johnsen-Neshati, Eileen Kennedy, Don Russell
No Response:
Robert Golden, So Lim, Jolanda N. Janczewski, Jonathan Goldman, Shá Norman
Find a recording of the meeting
Welcome:
Vicki Salmon, Chair
Vicki Salmon opened the meeting and welcomed new board member Sadhvi Subramanian. In her new term as chair of the Mason Arts Board, Vicki has discussed goals for the coming years with Rick Davis and Susan Graziano. Several board members have already committed to supporting these initiatives.
The first goal is to host informational dinners to engage with people who understand the value of philanthropy and the arts. Rick and Susan have agreed to attend these gatherings, and several board members have committed to hosting dinners. The aim is to foster closer connections and allow attendees to learn more about the work of Mason Arts.
The second goal involves recruiting new board members. Current board members, faculty, and administrators are encouraged to keep an eye out for potential candidates.
There is a special board meeting scheduled for Friday, November 8, where members will discuss the college's strategic plan and how the board’s work aligns with the college's strategic goals.
Committee Reports
Audience Engagement
Paulette Miller
Vicki Salmon reported in Paulette Miller’s absence. This committee will be focusing more on board engagement activities, including the upcoming luncheon on November 8. The committee also hopes to host a series of dinners throughout the year to bring people together. Staff or board leadership will ensure someone from the college is there to engage with guests, and will provide support and materials to help make these events a success.
Finance
Annie Bolger, Treasurer
Annie Bolger presented the first quarter dashboard (see meeting packet). Mason’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.
Scholarship expenditures are down slightly for the second year in a row. With the month of August not yet closed, there may be more scholarships to post.
Ticket sales is the largest earned income category and helps show the vitality of the performing arts venues. Sales are down $38k from last year. However, seasons have many variables so percent-to budget is the best indicator of planned performance. Last year, year-to-date, we were 20% to budget and this year we are at 33% to budget.
Facility Rentals Foundation Accounts
Facility rentals is another key performance indicator of the strength of the performing arts venues. There is currently $276k in rental revenue which is nearly double last year’s $143k. Last year’s rental income was strong and it surpassed the combined budget.
The fourth chart shows foundation accounts balances. There has been a steady growth in restricted funds from FY16-FY22 and then substantial growth in FY23 and again in FY24. These are less impacted by market volatility and growth is tied directly to contributions. The Endowed funds have had a similar growth trajectory but with a significant dip at the end of FY22. The FY24 year-end figures show a second year of solid recovery with endowment funds breaking the $20M threshold.
The last three years of course credits (chart five), are in green and they are final results. The Yellow is this year and there is still time for students to drop classes without penalty so it will likely go down, but the numbers indicate promising results. Course credits are up 1.6% from Fall 2023. Slow and steady growth puts CVPA in a good position to act when the university launches the new budget model planned for next year.
The two academies are doing well with strong enrollment across the board. Foot traffic at the performing arts centers was up again year-over-year. In FY24, we had a quarter million people coming through the doors.
Development
– Victoria Salmon
Vicki Salmon highlighted the efforts of Susan Graziano and her team. The year-to-date total raised is $1.5 million, including gifts from Peter D. Giovanni for the music endowment, Jacqueline Mars for the vocal studies program, and contributions from Amazon Web Services for youth arts initiatives. Additionally, Jonathan Goldman has established a scholarship endowment for wind instruments, classical guitar, and musical theater, and Ruth Altheim has requested support for the temporary music school. Mason Arts also received a grant for the Arts and Artisan Residency Program. Board member Isaac Thweatt has pledged support for the Center for the Arts and Mason's vision day, to benefit the vocal studies and opera programs.
CVPA has raised $10 million towards the university's $1 billion goal for the university’s comprehensive campaign, which equals 10% of the target.
The Peterson Family Foundation has made a transformative gift of $5M for the Peterson Auditorium in the Center for the Arts, and Sally Merton has generously named a tower in honor of Lucy Church. Linda and Harlan Harber have named two orchestra seats, and many others have made significant contributions as well.
There are new naming opportunities available. Please contact Susan Graziano for details.
Governance
Vicki Salmon
Molly Grimsley was thanked for stepping up as chair of the Governance Committee. She will help facilitate the nomination process for new board members. Current board members were encouraged to send board candidate names to Molly, Vicki, Susan, or Emily Rusch.
Arts by George!
Annie Bolger, Chair
Annie Bolger expressed gratitude to all the ARTS by George! committee members and to everyone who has sponsored or purchased a ticket. Annie particularly thanked Charniele Herring for securing Dominion Energy as a sponsor this year.
Board members were encouraged to contribute to ARTS by George! as a way of meeting their $2,500 give or get philanthropic commitment.
The funds raised at ARTS by George! are vital for the college to attract the best talent and maintain its high standards. The funds are distributed equally among all of the programs. Last year, this was significant for many programs and the funds played a crucial role in their success.
Around CVPA
Please see Program Directors’ written reports in the meeting packet.
Dean’s Report
Dean Rick Davis reports on Mason/CVPA
Rick Davis reported that Arts by George! will be honored again this year with a proclamation from the City of Fairfax. This recognition symbolizes a growing relationship with the community.
There is significant progress on a new facility on University Drive which will benefit the Green Machine. This space will provide much-needed rehearsal rooms for various ensembles and it will host large events that can’t take place elsewhere on campus.
The year-long James Baldwin celebrations are another important partnership CVPA has engaged in recently. An impactful exhibition just opened in the Gillespie Gallery’s, called "Nothing Personal: A Collaboration in Black and White." It explores the relationship between text and imagery and is a must-see.
There is recent progress in the planning of the Arts District, which includes the Center for the Arts campaign. The Center for the Arts is in the middle of the Arts District, overlooking Mason Pond and Mason Pond Lawn. The idea of an Arts District first emerged during the pandemic, when the college could only hold outdoor performances on a large, less-than-attractive stage at the south end. During that time several staff members had the insight that the center of gravity at George Mason had shifted. Activities were happening around Mason Pond, leading to the idea for an intentional sculpture garden. There are already significant outdoor sculptures on campus, such including one on the lawn, which is on loan from the National Gallery, and the beautiful dancers by the Music Theatre building.
This led to the idea of an intentionally designed sculpture park with more than 20 sculptures and an amphitheater featuring Mason Pond as a key visual element. The Arts District would be a circle that starts at Harris Theatre to the north and ends at the design area to the south, all within a 10-minute walk of each other. This circle would include the reimagined Center for the Arts, the Gillespie Gallery, the Buchanan Atrium Gallery, and spaces for theater and dance performances.
The Arts District is now part of the university's master plan. Perkins Eastman, a distinguished architecture and planning firm, has been engaged to create a preliminary site design. CVPA is close to securing funding from the university to kickstart the design process, which will help identify additional funding sources, including philanthropic contributions.
Strategic Plan
Please review the Mission, Vision, Values, and Strategic Priorities document in the meeting packet. This document is the result of a lengthy process that included extensive surveys, town halls, focus groups, and research.
Rick Davis, Whitman Brown, and Caitlyn Rivero spoke about the development and the implementation phase of the strategic planning process, noting that the real challenges lie in the implementation of the strategic priorities. Administration does not want the work done on this to sit idle; everyone will need to engage continually with results of this process. A dashboard to track progress is being developed.
The rollout of the Mason Arts brand is essential to strategic priority number one. An important part of the implementation of priority two is connecting student success and alumni engagement. CVPA alumni can support the college’s efforts, and their involvement will enhance all Mason Arts programs.
In an effort to further priority three there will be a research support structure developed for faculty, partnering with the College of Education and Human Development. This will provide faculty with robust resources for grant proposals, which CVPA couldn’t afford independently.
Increased alumni engagement is essential to creating a culture of philanthropy, outlined in priority five. CVPA wants to raise awareness of all programs and ensure equitable funding. The George Mason brand campaign ties into this, helping increase the visibility of Mason Arts and financial resources.
Closing
The November 8 meeting will focus on the mission and duties of the board. There will be no remote option for this meeting. Please review the board documents on the website and prepare for an active discussion.
The meeting adjourned at 10:15 am.
Mason Arts Board Meeting - CVPA Development Report
FY24 Raised YEAR END: $7.8M
Year End Gift News:
- Peter DiGiovanni created the Peter N. DiGiovanni Music Endowment and a generous
- current use gift from him and his wife Sally
- Jacqueline Mars - major gift to support the Vocal Studies Fund and Opera Production
- Woodleigh Chase returned as a sponsor for the Center for the Arts 2024-2025 Season
- Amazon Web Services gift for the Performing Arts for Kids at the Hylton Center
- Fairfax Spotlight on the Arts - gift to provide 5 student scholarships
FY25 Raised YTD: $1.1M
Gift News:
- Jonathan Goldman - bequest for the Goldman Family Scholarship Endowment to support wind instruments, classical guitar, musical theater, and theatrical production
- Ruth Altheim - bequest to benefit the Dewberry School of Music
- Seeley Foundation $20K grant for the Friends of the Center for the Arts
- An anonymous foundation made a grant for the Artist-in-Residence program in the Center for the Arts and the Instruments in the Attic program at the Mason Community Arts Center
- Isaac Thweatt pledged to support the Center for the Arts reimagination as well as Mason Vision Day to benefit Vocal Studies and Opera
- Didlake Inc. expanded its partnership with a pledge to all of Mason Arts as the 2024-25 Season Accessibility Sponsor for the Center for the Arts and the Hylton Performing Arts Center
Mason Now: Power the Possible Campaign Update
- All gifts to CVPA support our $60M goal towards the University’s $1 billion campaign.
- CVPA recently surpassed the 50% mark, raising $32M (53% of goal) (as of September 6, 2024)
Raised to date: $17.7M
Gift News:
- The Peterson Family Foundation made a transformative gift of $5M to name the Center for the Arts as the Peterson Auditorium
- Sara (Sally) Merten - major gift to name the Tower in honor of her friend, Lucy Church
- Kelly and Steve Harms named a Balcony Seat
- Linda and Harlan Harber named two Orchestra seats
- Laura Peebles and Ellen Fingerman named two Orchestra seats
Three non-naming gifts:
- Isaac Thweatt
- The Seeley Foundation made a second major gift
- Lucy Church made her third major gift
Center for the Arts Reimagination Initiative
The Congressionally Directed Spending proposal for the CFA did not move forward to the
Senate Appropriations Bill.
Gift News:
We now have new naming opportunities to support both the capital initiative as well as programming for the Center for the Arts. If you are interested in learning more, please ask Susan Graziano.
ARTS by George! September 2024 Report
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GOAL: $250,000 |
ACTUAL: $222,850 |
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Sponsorship goal: $200,000 |
Sponsorships: $204,000 |
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Donations goal: $25,000 (includes Raise the Paddle at event) |
Donations: $4,250 |
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Ticket sales goal: $25,000 |
Ticket sales: $14,600 |
Sponsorship breakdown:
We have 50 sponsors so far:
- 1 Premier Sponsor (Dominion Energy: $30,000)
- 1 Presenting Sponsor (Sandy Spring Bank: $25,000)
- 2 Executive Producer Sponsors ($10,000+)
- 6 Producer Sponsors ($5,000)
- 10 Benefactor Sponsors ($3,500+)
- 24 Patron Sponsors ($2,000)
- 6 Half-Patron Sponsors ($1,000)
- Of these sponsors, 9 are new sponsors of ARTS by George!: Dominion Energy, 2 Producer Sponsors, and 6 Patron sponsors
- Of these sponsors, 5 increased their sponsorship from last year to a higher level
- We also have 3 in-kind sponsors: Twinbrook Floral Designs, Glory Days Grill, and Earp’s Ordinary
- This year, Charniele helped us get our biggest ARTS by George! sponsor ever—Dominion Energy has sponsored for $30,000! We are so grateful for her work in soliciting this sponsor. We had to create a brand-new category for them!
- Sponsorship outreach continues – if you have not yet met your give/get, or if you have and want to support the scholarships and community arts programs at Mason, please consider sponsoring! Sponsorship information can be found on the next page.
- Please consider purchasing a ticket for ARTS by George!—it’s going to be a fantastic event!
Honorary Committee:
- 41 members—up from 27 last year
- 1 US Senator, 2 US House Representatives, 2 Mayors, 5 Fairfax City Councilmembers, 9 Supervisors, 5 State Senators, and 17 Delegates
- 18 will be in attendance
Sponsorship Information
If you’d like to sponsor, please do so! If you sponsor by tomorrow, September 12th, we will be able to include your name and ad (if applicable) in the program! After that, your name will still be able to be on signage but not in the program as it goes to print tomorrow.
Please email Hannah Ruth Wellons to sponsor or if you have questions!
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Executive Producer Sponsor - $10,000 ($2,060 in benefits): |
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Producer Sponsor - $5,000 ($1,600 in benefits): |
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Benefactor Sponsor - $3,500 ($1,200 in benefits): |
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Patron Sponsor - $2,000 ($800 in benefits): |
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September 2024 Program Reports
ARTS MANAGEMENT
The Arts Management Program is thrilled to start celebrating our 20th anniversary and welcome a new cohort of students – also starting their own exciting educational and professional journeys. All year long, we will feature programming that supports our students as well as the larger arts community, aligned with our program, faculty, and alumni commitment to service in the arts and culture fields around the world. We have included a preview of our fall events for the Arts at Mason Board in the link below. Each event promises to be an excellent opportunity for you to see faculty and students demonstrating their expertise.
Learn more about AMGT events!
SCHOOL OF DANCE
The beginning of our school year is ridiculously exciting—with our students returning from incredible international summer experiences, our nervous new students arriving from around the country, an astonishing adjunct faculty joining to support our full-time faculty, new musicians, new Dance Partnership Council members, a new $10,000 gift (wow), and a Kennedy Center performance within our first three weeks of school! Oh….and don’t forget Arts by George on the 28th, ok, maybe we plan to show off just a LITTLE bit.
Our annual Freshmen Welcome hosted by Donna Kidd, Peter Stearns, Elizabeth Price and Mike Brown was as fun as ever, with 25 new students to welcome, all with incredible stories of why they chose Mason. A stunningly beautiful night at the Fairfax Country Club, the food, flowers, views, and most importantly, our new dancers made it an easy and truly enjoyable night. Thanks to Trishana Bowden and Rick Davis for their incredibly inspiring words to our dancers and as always, the 100% participation of ALL our faculty and staff; present, supportive, and well… kinda cool as usual, just made it such a meaningful event!
Already in our studios we have had auditions for our own student works, as well as guest artist residency works. Thanks to these early experiences, we will have two demonstrations presented at Arts By George, where you will get a peek into what you will see in our March Gala, if only in there very beginning phases. You will also “meet” our new freshmen class in a brief but fun, quick segment before each showcase.
We head into the next months, with auditions for next year’s class (which actually seems crazy), creations for our concerts, classes, classes, classes, and a great deal of excitement and enthusiasm. So! If you have read this far, you have an open invitation to stop by, take a look at our day to day, ask for more information, or just drop in and say hello. Our percussionists will be rocking, our pianists will be transporting us to magical places, and the care and expertise you will observe from our faculty will undoubtedly make you want to be a part of our culture. Everyone needs a nourishing moment for the sublime, where it simply feels incredible to be a part of life, art, and creation, you are welcome anytime.
I, and the entire School of Dance, hope to meet you in person in our studios soon. And thank you for all that you contribute already to the Arts at Mason. — Warmly, Susan Shields
Save the date: November 8th and 9th - Fall New Dances
COMPUTER GAME DESIGN PROGRAM
Summer Activities:
The Computer Game Design program participated in the Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program (ASSIP) this summer. Professors Nam and Casey mentored two projects: "Utilizing Hand Tracking Technologies in Serious Games to Teach American Sign Language" and "Developing an AI Agent for Early Elementary Education Using Dialectical Materialism." Prof. Nam also hosted a game design workshop at Seoul Digitech High School in Korea and led professional development workshops for K12 educators in Korea and the UAE on game design and AI in the classroom. Additionally, he explored international funding opportunities, meeting with the US Embassy in Seoul to discuss a trilateral eSports event and with Abu Dhabi Gaming to plan a global game jam in November.
Fall 2024:
The program, home to 431 BFA students, hosted a welcome event on August 30th. On September 20-21, we will participate in gameMason, featuring talks by Profs. Casey, Grimsby, and Hahn, as well as alumni from Little Arms Studio.
Faculty Highlights:
Prof. Matt Nolan was invited to serve on the Executive Committee of a2ru. Prof. Sang Nam received his second US Fulbright Specialist Award to develop a VR game for a historical site in Tunisia. Professors Nam, Casey, and Piccione also received a 4-VA Collaborative Grant for a multimodal AI agent for trauma training in collaboration with the School of Medicine at UVa.
FILM AND VIDEO STUDIES PROGRAM
Film people were busy this summer, and we’re looking forward to the new semester, including Arts By George!, where our presentation of student films includes selections from our Best of Film at George Mason Showcase 2024.
Faculty
Professor Nikyatu Jusu was invited to serve as a juror for the Best New Narrative Director category at the June 2024 Tribeca Film Festival.
Professor Tommy Britt published “Stories, Frames, and Objects: Pulp Fiction as a Transitional Work,” in a special issue of the South Central Review (Pulp Fiction Turns 30) and "What is Television?" in the book, Adapting Television and Literature. He presented several papers, including “Surveying the Land of Nod: Sleep in Modernism and Beyond,” at the British Association for Modernist Studies Conference (he also served as chair for the panel "Ephemeral Genres”); and "Beyond Failure in After Last Season" at the Colloque international : Failure / l'échec dans la culture visuelle anglophone, at the Université Côte d'Azur-Campus Georges Méliès. His new script, Today While Resting, won Best Screenplay at the Bratislava Film Awards and the Hollywood Just4Shorts Film and Screenplay Competition.
Professor G. Chesler was awarded a Regional Arts and Culture Council grant for post-production on their documentary feature, Connection | Isolation, focused on trans lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. The poster is designed by George Mason alum Grey Copeland.
Professor Benjamin Steger’s music documentary series, Vibrations, screened at multiple film festivals. Vibrations: Dharma Punks appeared at the Bali International Film Festival, the Lighthouse International Film Festival; the Kansas City Film Fest International; the Barebones International Film Festival; and the Lonely Seal International Film, Screenplay and Music Festival. Vibrations: Offerings screened at the Mediawave International Film and Music Gathering in Budapest; was awarded “Winning Episode” at the Harlem International Film Festival (for a limited time, it can be streamed on their website); and screened at the Columbia Maryland Film Festival.
Professor Robert Farr delivered a talk at MarxFest 2024 on Coney Island, NY. He presented his research about small town audience receptions of the Marx Brothers' movies.
Professor May Santiago published her article, “The Global Dimensions of Online Fandom: Caution! Zine and the Killers,” in Rock Music Studies (30 April 2024). See the article here.
Professor Rebekah Wingert-Jabi's Video Production for Social Change class (Fall 2023) produced two short films featured at Herndon-Reston FISH’s 2024 FISH Fling. View the films.
FAVS Affiliate Faculty William Meaux led a film crew at the Democratic National Convention in August. Working for the Italian American Democrats Communication Committee, the team covered the representation of this community at the Convention.
Alumni
FAVS alum Michael Kamel (‘17), is the Production Manager for a new NPR podcast called Tested. The podcast "follows the unfolding story of elite female runners who have been told they can no longer race as women, because of their biology... To understand how we got here, we trace the surprising, 100-year history of sex testing.” Read more about the podcast.
FAVS alum Raul Rosado ('12), a senior writer and producer in the PWCS Communications Department, won a prestigious regional Emmy award for his video, “Determined to Beat the Odds: Student Walks at Graduation.” Raul ‘s video was nominated in the Education/Schools-News (Single Shift) category.
REVA AND SID DEWBERRY FAMILY SCHOOL OF MUSIC
Join us for a spectacular opening of our 2024 Fall Concert season with A Grand Piano Celebration on Sunday, September 22 at 3 p.m. in Mason's Center for the Arts. This concert honors Mason's All-Steinway School. Outstanding student and faculty artists of the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music at George Mason University will be on stage to display their marvelous talents. The concert will be led by Dr. Linda Apple Monson, International Steinway Artist and Director of the Dewberry School of Music. Additional piano faculty artists include Dr. Anna Balakerskaia, Dr. John Healey, and Dr. Eunae Ko Han. Exciting and dramatic solo piano, duo-piano works, and collaborative piano works will be performed. Mason's faculty piano ensemble (8 hands) will also be showcased!
Mason faculty artists Prof. Jennifer Casey Cabot (soprano), Dr. Caroline Steiger (horn), and Dr. Linda Monson (piano) will be featured in a beautiful work by Dr. Andrea Reinkemeyer, Mason's Director of Composition. Additional composers showcased in the Grand Piano Celebration concert include Beethoven, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, daFalla, Ginastera, Piazzolla, and more!
We would be honored to see you on September 22. We are excited to share this glorious music with you. A post-concert reception will follow in the Center for the Arts lobby.
SCHOOL OF THEATER
The School of Theater is pleased to present another season of compelling shows and events. This year, our multi-faceted productions examine characters and communities on the brink of despair, love, redemption, and so much more. The fall musical, 110 in the Shade, centers around a young woman who must decide between the struggle of present circumstances and the bright promise of new possibilities; the original devised show More Dogs—integrating movement, text, and music as theatrical language––explores the evolution and construction of the historic conflict between Irish and African-Americans; and Shakespeare’s The Tempest, directed by CVPA Dean Rick Davis, dramatizes one man’s relentless thirst for revenge and the cost of that idealization. As always, George Mason’s School of Theater is proud to extend its mission of academic vigor, artistic innovation, and inclusive excellence in classrooms as well as on stages.
Just presented on Monday, Sept 9th, “An Evening of Creative and Critical Discourse Inspired by James Baldwin’s Blues for Mister Charlie” was produced in collaboration with The Alan Cheuse International Writer’s Center. This event extended the year-long celebration of James Baldwin’s centennial birthday, and centered around critical conversations about Blues for Mister Charlie, and a staged reading of the Till Trilogy written and directed by artist/scholar Ifa Bayeza, featuring performances by George Mason faculty, alumni, and undergraduates.
And as always, our first production showcases original 10-minute plays, written and directed by our talented George Mason students. The Originals! runs Friday, Sept 13th – Saturday, Sept 14th, also in TheaterSpace.
GREEN MACHINE ENSEMBLES
The Green Machine Pep Band traveled to Incheon, South Korea in June to celebrate Mason Korea’s 10-year anniversary. The band was comprised of students, faculty, and alumni and gave spirited performances at Mason Korea in Songdo-dong, Nuri Park at the DMZ, the Folk Music Festival on Nami Island, and in the South Korean capital of Seoul. A highlight was collaborating on performances with student musicians from Mason Korea’s student body. This trip was an incredible and deeply impactful experience that all involved will remember for the rest of our lives.
The Green Machine Historical Ensembles were active and perspiring throughout the summer. They served our community and represented Mason well at historical events, community concerts, and social gatherings throughout the DC metro area. The GMU Indoor Drumline and GMU Winter Guard are both gearing up for another thrilling competitive season which will culminate in Dayton in April at the Winter Guard International (WGI) Finals. Green & Gold Soul will be performing both on and off campus throughout the semester. The Green Machine and Emerald Desire will begin rehearsals and are looking forward to the upcoming basketball season. We hope to see you at Mason Madness on Friday October 18th for the basketball season kickoff event! We promise it’ll be a party!
All of the Green Machine Ensembles are looking forward to another incredible year of music-making and community-building! Be sure to follow Doc Nix and the Green Machine on Facebook, Instagram, and X to stay up to date with all our upcoming performances! @gmugreenmachine
HYLTON PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
On September 10th, the Hylton Center unveiled the “Take a Giant Step” art installation during an intimate reception with donors in the Ballard Postma Studio. Inspired by John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps” and situated prominently in the Education and Rehearsal Wing, this work of art celebrates the entire life-cycle of artistic creation. Gifts made to the campaign support the Hylton Center’s mission to stimulates and transforms the cultural and economic vitality of our region by presenting diverse performances and programs of high quality and artistic excellence. To learn more or make a gift, contact Dylan Lambert or call 703-993-7061.
The Hylton Performing Arts Center’s 2024-25 Season is right around the corner, showcasing another incredible season of performing arts. The Hylton Presents season highlights include season-opener Capitol Fools on September 22 at 7pm, Broadway star Mandy Gonzalez, an all-female tap dance celebration with Chloé Arnold’s Syncopated Ladies LIVE, and a special taping of Mountain Stage hosted by Kathy Mattea. There’s so much offered, from great family entertainment at affordable prices with the Hylton Family Series, to up-close, down-home concerts with the American Roots Series, to delightful afternoon performances with Matinee Idylls. Purchase tickets online at HYLTONCENTER.ORG or by calling 703-993-7759.
The 2024-25 Season is made possible in-part by Season Sponsor F.H. Furr, Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning and Electrical; Season Accessibility Sponsor Didlake, Inc.; and Education Initiative Lead Sponsor Amazon Web Services.
Come visit the Hylton Center and take part in all we have to offer!
MARKETING
Center for the Arts 2024–25 Sales Updates as of 9/9
For Great Performances at Mason and Family Series:
- 39% of tickets sold goal of 25,575
- 39% of revenue goal of $1.168 million
- Subscriber renewals are good at 57%
- We are about 78% of the total number of subscriber households from 23–24 / 603 of 764
Individual Tickets to An Evening with Lea Salonga are already more than 810 sold, this is prior to the development tickets holds are added for ARTS by George! guests, so we should have a very full house for the concert.
The Center for the Arts has a new official advertising partnership with Mason Athletics, specifically for ad visibility throughout Eagle Bank Arena. More cross-promotional opportunities will also happen throughout the year, especially once basketball season starts in November.
Hylton Performing Arts Center 2024–25 Sales Update as of 9/9
For Hylton Presents, Hylton Family Series, American Roots, and Matinee Idylls:
- 37% of our tickets sold goal of 14,090 tickets
- 35% of our revenue goal of $542,000
- Subscriber Renewals are strong at 65%
- We are already at 95% of TOTAL subscriber households from 23–24 / 289 of 299
MASON EXHIBITIONS
University Art Collection
The collection has continued to expand with donations of contemporary art, sculpture, and African art. Works from the collection have been installed recently in CVPA offices, the Facilities Conference Room, and the School of Art. The collections storage room has been reorganized and expanded, making it more accessible to students and scholars.
Mason Exhibitions staff is currently engaged in a planning process to examine the future potential of public art on campus. Working with architects from Perkins+Will and Mason’s Office of Capital Strategy and Planning, a report will be released later this semester. The plan will include recommendations for potential sites, scholarly interpretation, an acquisitions policy, environmental impacts, and other implications of placing art within Mason’s rich learning environment.
Murals at Mason
The Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution commissioned a kinetic sculpture by School of Art alumni Girasol O’Neill, entitled ‘Finding Our Rhythm’, inspired by Indigenous stories and traditions. The sculpture was a participatory art activity for high school students who attended the Conflict Resolution Youth Summit over the summer to learn about cross-cultural peace building.
Exhibitions
Gillespie Gallery (Fairfax)
Nothing Personal: A Collaboration in Black and Whiteclosely examines the collaborative artwork in book form by two legendary American artists, James Baldwin, the African American writer, public intellectual, and civil rights activist, and Richard Avedon the Jewish fashion and portrait photographer. The exhibition is at Gillespie Gallery from September 3 - November 15, 2024, in partnership with the Baldwin100 initiative.
Mason Exhibitions Arlington (Arlington)
Faces and Figures: Identity Through Printmaking Between South Africa and DC features over 100 prints by 28 artists from the Artist Proof Studio (APS), based in Johannesburg, South Africa, joined by artwork by DC-based printmakers EJ Montgomery, Gail Shaw Clemons, Aziza Claudia Gibson Hunter, Michael B. Platt, and Percy Martin. The exhibition is at Mason Exhibitions Arlington from September 13 - December 6, 2024.
Buchanan Hall Atrium Gallery (Fairfax)
A Closer Look: Conflicted Art From Ukrainepresents artistic responses to war through the works of 13 contemporary Ukrainian artists from the frontline. Through photography, video, painting, sculpture, and installation, these artists explore critical issues on the fault lines of conflict. Their works initiate a dialogue between viewers and the profound realities of conflict, encouraging and modeling resilience in the face of adversity. The exhibition is in Buchanan Hall Atrium Gallery from September 16 - December 13, 2024.
MASON COMMUNITY ARTS ACADEMY
MCAA had a record summer to celebrate! Our faculty and staff had the privilege of working with over 1,800 students across our programs in Music, Acting, Visual Art, Film & Video, and Professional Development. While we streamlined our programs into seven weeks, we grew by an additional 130 registrants this year! In addition to the return of our most popular programs, including Summer Acting Camps, Filmmaking Camps and Creative Discoveries visual art classes, MCAA presented our brand new Children's Choir Camp and Kodály Side-by-Side supplemental program, once a years’ long dream that has now come to fruition. Through this program, our young choral students participated in choir practice, guided by Kodály teachers in training. This year, our second annual Mason Summer Band Camp under the direction of Dr. William L. Lake, Jr. and featuring several guest teaching artists, welcomed over 120 young musicians from all over the region. The Mason String Camp combined the High School Strings Institute and String Camp into one program. Directed by Dr. Soo Han and Professor June Huang, along with fantastic guest faculty, students were divided into two ensembles and learned through chamber ensemble rehearsals, private lessons and master classes. Again this year, our Orff and Kodály teacher training programs provided music teachers with the opportunity to earn credit or gain professional experience in these intensive courses of study. 950 students attended our Acting for Young People theater programs. Our Visual Art classes, under the leadership of Dr. Justin Sutters and Dr. Hayon Park, provided young students with the opportunity to learn various art techniques and make visits to the campus libraries and other locations. While campus was bustling, over 200 students attended private music lessons each week at our Academy building.
A huge thanks to the Mason faculty members and students who shared their expertise in these programs. We thank our colleagues in the College of Visual and Performing Arts and the Arts Support Umbrella staff, who welcome us into the campus spaces each year and make our programming possible. Last but certainly not least, congratulations and thank you to our incredible MCAA staff. None of this would happen without their tireless efforts. Before the summer season was even over, they were already hard at work, reflecting on this year and making plans for next. Our Fall Group Classes and private music lessons are just beginning and we look forward to a busy and wonderful season, which will include another offering of Improv for Military Kids, in collaboration with the Veterans & the Arts Initiative.
Visit the Mason Community Arts Academy website
VETERANS AND THE ARTS INITIATIVE
This year, the Veterans and the Arts Initiative is proud to celebrate 10 years of supporting our military-connected community through arts programming. The fall season includes longstanding favorites, such as our Virtual Veterans Guitar Workshop Series taught by Glen McCarthy and Eco-Graphic Arts Workshops taught by Patrick Sargent, as well as our yearly collaboration with The United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” to present their annual Salute to Veterans Concert. We are also excited to present a new Watercolor Workshop Series taught by Kelly Haneklau and a Coffee Mandala Workshop taught by Hiral Joshi. We encourage you to share information about our workshops and upcoming concerts, especially with those who might be new to our community! The Veterans and the Arts Initiative recently attended a Blue Star Families event to welcome military families to our region, and we can proudly attest, after heartfelt conversations with many military kids and their parents/guardians, that the arts are one of the most meaningful ways to welcome our Veterans, Servicemembers, and their families to our community.
VIRGINIA SERIOUS GAME INSTITUTE
At the Virginia Serious Game Institute (VSGI), we just celebrated 10 years of Serious Game Goodness! We’ve handled over 30 companies and teams in our incubator over the years, nearly 1000 employees in various forms, thousands of students in our outreach, and numerous research opportunities and grants. The best part is we are stopping and having plans for more of all of our main tenets in the coming year(s). We also will be launching the Korean Serious Game Institute at Mason Korea in November, so our influence is only growing.
One of the big pushes this summer was also our Mason Game and Technology outreach program that hosted over 300 students over 7 weeks through a combination of residential and day camps in a variety of game design and STEM topics for students from MS and HS. We even taught coding and art in Roblox/Minecraft for the first time.
Our research project(s) are still going strong and our incubated companies are finding successes all over. If you have folks that would like to know more about any of our programs, please reach out and we’d be glad to set up tours and meetings. We are always looking for collaborators and conspirators. Here’s to 10 more years!
SCHOOL OF ART
- Professor Chawky Frenn has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Scholar award for the 2024-2025 academic year, marking his second Fulbright. He will be conducting research and teaching at Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, India. His project will explore the Life-Death-Rebirth cycle in Indian culture and arts, aiming to bridge cultures and enhance his work in peacebuilding and social justice through art.
- Professor Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz has received a prestigious award from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage in partnership with Mural Arts Philadelphia, celebrating the semi-quasquicentennial anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Formal announcements are forthcoming.
- Associate Professor Christopher Kardambikis and Professor Sue Wrbican are featured in The Alloy Project at Tephra ICA’s Annual Benefit. This special edition honors Tephra ICA’s 50th anniversary by showcasing ten artists who have significantly contributed to its legacy.
- Professors Gail Scott-White (SOA) and Cynthia Fuchs (FAVS) are organizing an exciting collaboration with WMATA’s Art in Transit program. They are leading a project where four students are creating 20-second animations for display in six Metro stations.
- Professor Zoë Charlton has artwork featured in two major traveling exhibitions: Multiplicity: Blackness in Contemporary American Collage at The Phillips Collection (Washington, D.C.) and A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of The Great Migration at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (Berkeley, CA). Both exhibitions are on view until September 22, 2022.