Join us for Art in the Open, a free event that invites the community to explore UB’s vibrant arts scene and experience how art is made at UB.

Guests have the chance to meet university artists and go behind the scenes to get a glimpse of works in progress. Enjoy live music and dance performances, explore exhibitions, tour studios, view films and more! 

Presented by the Center for the Arts in collaboration with the departments of Art, Arts Management, UB Art Galleries, Media Study, Music, and Theatre and Dance.

This event is FREE and open to University at Buffalo students, faculty, staff and the public.

Enjoy FREE Refreshments as you mingle with fellow art enthusiasts, creators, and performers (while supplies last).

Evening Performances

5:00 p.m.        Doors and Studios Open

• Enjoy dance, music and musical theatre performances
• Explore studios, performance, art-making spaces, and labs
• Visit art exhibitions, installations, and wall murals
• Tour backstage spaces
• View films and digital projects

5:00 p.m.        Selections from The Lightning Thief, Musical Theatre, Department of Theatre and Dance

Directed by Mason Beggs
Music Direction by Matt Marco
Music and lyrics by Rob Rokicki
Performers: Braeden Kostusiak, Madeline Naughton, Alex Louis, Emily Putnam, Koby Fallon

5:20 p.m.        Poco a Poco (Little by Little), Zodiaque Dance Company, Department of Theatre and Dance

Choreography by Ephrat Asherie
Costumes by Sam Muscato
Music by Donovan Dorrance
Dancers: Gia Antonini, Vic Bruce, Erinn Cosgrove, Kiki Durante, Ella Hankinson, Sylvia Leonard, Sam Muscato, Kiera Oppelt, Kelly Root, William Schmidt, Violet Schraver

5:30 p.m.        Utinam Puer Essem, Emerging Choreographers Showcase, Department of Theatre and Dance

Choreography by Kendra Jones
Dancers: Allyson Balash, Sarah Mella, Aniyah Mungo, Danielle Sapor, Lily Wallace

5:40 p.m.        Shared Edges, Zodiaque Dance Company, Department of Theatre and Dance

Choreography by Kerry Ring
Costumes by Faith Marsala
Visual Art by Joan Linder
Projection by Marcus Harter and Leo Muck
Music: Afterlife, Life:1, Life Epilogue and Pieces of Wood: II by Oliver Davis
Dancers: Vic Bruce, Kiki Durante, Mackenzie Leone, Sam Muscato, Danielle Sapor, Kamryn Skrocki, Hannah Spencer, Katie Spencer, Mia Ganapolsky (Understudy)

5:50 p.m.        Intermission

6:00 p.m.        Oboe Performance, Department of Music

Performer: Sammy Stringer (Oboe)
Music: Baits Drive by Chad "Sir Wick" Hughes

6:10 p.m.        Guitar & Percussion Duet, Department of Music

Performers: Joseph Hogues (Guitar) and Kurt Meidenbauer (Percussion)

6:20 p.m.        Jazz Ensemble, Department of Music 

Performers: Zeki and Austin Higgins 

6:30 p.m.        Percussion Performance, Department of Music 

Performer: Alexys Vidal Gudino 

6:40 p.m.        Violist, Department of Music 

Performer: Caelan

6:50 p.m.        Trio, Department of Music 

Performers: Nina Schifano (Violin), Hannah (PhD Composer/Pianist), and Eme Bottoms (Soprano) Music: From Eve's Perspective by Faye-Ellen Silverman

102 – Constructed Belief – UB Art Galleries, First Floor Gallery

Four artists—Mara Baldwin, Ben Cowan, Nicki Green, and Muhammad Z. Zaman—use gesture and repetition to explore how ritual builds and redefines faith and community.

117 & 118 – Pop-Up Photo Exhibition – UB Department of Art

With work from students in ART 362: Professional Practices in Digital Photography, and ART 470: Photography: Extended Practice, organized by faculty member Salem Browning 

130 – Heather Phelps-Lipton

133 – Senior Thesis Studio

155 – Care Package, exhibition on view – UB Department of Art, Project Space

A group exhibition of work by students in the Art and Design for Social Impact Course, organized by Professor Stephanie Rothenberg.

Selections from the Media Study Club

Date With a Villager by Ethan LaBarbera, Cherry Red by Jadyn Hardy, Ten Cent Time Walk by Harrison Stump, Nun Ya Business by Jacob Burgin/Maggie Graber, What A Bomb Does by Sam Gayle, Mediocre by Timothy Coughlin, Processes of Perfection by Kaylee Heroth, Bound to a Homeland by Olawoyin Oluwatofunmi, Home by Andréa Damperon, Love You by Jacob Burgin/Maggie Graber, OffTheChain! by Jadyn Hardy 

201 – Karle Norman: Leather Prayers – UB Art Galleries, Second Floor Gallery

Sculptural hand-stitched leather wall hangings and installation work exploring belief, community, and control through the lens of Norman's own path away from a high-control religious group.

209 – Roscoe Duquette

211 – Nicholas Christakis

212A – Ana Sofia Camarga

212B – Robert Burleson

214A – Virginia Samsel

214B – Claire Connolly

216 – Reese Betts

217 – Jana Willis

219A – Caitlin Andrejova

219B – Bella Rosenthal

207, 213, 215 – Group studios by the Senior Thesis class of 2027 students

235 – Game Demos

Another Day at the Office: Definitive Edition by Tom Kline, No, I'm Not a Human by Kacie Allen, J*b Application by Eliana Freeman, Caucasian Princess Makeover by Dana Hunt-Locklear, starcrossed. by Dana Hunt-Locklear, mumblr by Dana Hunt-Locklear, and Anko's Loop by Andrea Kyaw, Nicole Oszczypala, Tabshir Khandaker, and Kendall Bullen 

242 – Open Lab: Extensible Media Lab, students from DMS 386: Physical Computing

285A – Dana Hunt-Locklear (PhD)

285B – Holden Treadway (PhD)

285C – Ashley Manigo (MFA)

272 – Tian Jiang (PhD)

273 – Famous Clark (PhD) & Annette Daniels Taylor (MFA)

278 – Max Tramantano

286 – PhD Film Screening

Miscarriage by Olurotimi Akanbi (PhD)

DMS Hall – Digital DADA, students from DMS 121: Basic Digital Arts textiles-based data visualization, students from DMS 545: Media Technology & Gender zines, students from DMS 480: Social Media & Networks

B19 – Twinkle Banerjee

B20 – Deirdre Harder

B21 – Rich Tomasello

B35 – Mack Mack

B36 – Caroline Chou

B45 – Edge of Abstraction, Opening Reception – UB Department of Art, Lower Gallery 

An exhibition curated by Professor Joan Linder, of works that play with the boundary between pure abstraction and art that references specific subjects and themes; including Kyle Butler (MFA 2010), Oreen Cohen (BFA 2008), Pam Glick (MFA 2019), and Jacob Kassay (BFA 2006).

Backstage Buzz: Scene Shop Open House – Scene Shop (B 88)

Technical Director Nick Quinn (THD)

Come explore where the magic gets built! Tour the paint floor, assembly zone, cut shop, and welding area-and check out prop artisan work on display. Get a look at the tools and materials that turn imagination into reality.

Behind the Seams – Costume Shop (B 77)

Assistant Teaching Professor Max Levitt (THD)

Swing by to see stunning costume designs from Zodiaque Dance Company. Come learn what we do in the shop!

Emerging Choreographers Showcase Rehearsals – Open Studios (B 82 & B 84)