Arts & Culture

The Work at Hand: A Retrospective Through 54 Black Binders

In her last recital as a Full Professor at Towson, mezzo soprano Leneida Crawford and her dear colleague, collaborative pianist Susan Ricci, offer a romp through the recitals they have given at TU and other venues since Dr. Crawford began teaching at TU in 1996. In that time they have given some 54 recitals of different styles. The diverse array of music presented will run from early Italian Songs to 21st century American compositions and many styles in between. This will be Dr. Crawford's final semester as a tenured Full Professor.

February 1 at 6 p.m.  |  Recital Hall, CA 3066

Lecture: Writer / Curator / Publisher / Showman James Taylor

James Taylor, featured in Reverie&Alchemy, is perhaps the world’s foremost authority on sideshow, founder of the American Dime Museum, Baltimore, which was part Victorian recreation and part homage to circus, carnival and dime museum culture, and later a similar museum at the Palace of Wonder in Washington D.C. He is the publisher of Shocked and Amazed! On & Off the Midway, the world’s only known periodical on contemporary and historical sideshow, novelty and variety, and is the founder of Dolphin Moon Press. He is renowned for “the act,” a sideshow spectacle he almost definitely will not be performing at Towson.

Lecture followed by the opening reception for the Reverie&Alchemy exhibition.

February 6 at 6:30 p.m.  |  Art Lecture Hall, CA 2032

Ruth Page International Dance Experience Auditions

Ruth Page School of Dance offers an intensive summer program for dancers at intermediate to pre-professional levels. With internationally renowned master teachers and our own highly regarded school faculty, our program provides appropriate dance technique classes designed to provide far-reaching improvement for each dancer. Artistic Director, Victor Alexander will be coming to Towson University to facilitate an audition to the Ruth Page International Dance Experience.

February 8 at 1 p.m.

Dave Ballou Sabbatical Recital: "Detritus Suite"

Inspired by visits to New Mexico's back country where he was shown 3000-year-old shrines left by the native people, professor Dave Ballou began questioning what our current culture leaves behind for people of the future. From rusting trucks found in the woods, to journals and notebooks, to unused artistic materials, what may be considered trash to some has deeper meaning to those willing to seek context. This "Detritus" is the inspiration for the set of compositions created by professor Ballou during his spring of 2024 sabbatical. This version of the "Detritus Suite" features TU J/C Trumpet professor Ballou, TU J/C Guitar professor John Lee, TU J/C Bass professor Jeff Reed and J/C Drum Set professor Mike Kuhl. 

February 12 at 8 p.m.  |  Recital Hall, CA 3066

Student Composers Concert

TU composition students present a concert of original works in this collaborative concert performed by fellow students in the Department of Music.

Featured student composers: Elijah Mosely, Adrian Shavuo, Elijah Antonious, Thomas Stecklair, Eric McWilliams, Maura Gim

February 19 at 8 p.m.  |  Recital Hall, CA 3066

Eat ChocoPie Together

“Take a bite for peace,” while contemplating our shared humanity, and wishing for peace, cooperation, and unity. Participate in a peace-making circle led by Dr. Jennifer Langdon (Chair of TU’s Department of Sociology, Anthropology & Criminal Justice). Learn how Mina Cheon advocates for peace through her art. Enjoy eating chocopies with others with shared visions for a more peaceful and harmonious world. Co-presented by TU Asian Arts & Culture Center, TU Center for Student Diversity (APIMEDA), TU Department of Sociology, Anthropology & Criminal Justice, and Alpha Sigma Rho Sorority.

February 20 at 6 p.m.  |  Asian Arts Gallery, CA 2037

From Sorrow, Hope: a Recital for Cello and Piano

Towson University Professor of Cello Joseph Gotoff joins forces with pianist Dr. Wan-chi Su to present an emotional and thought-provoking program of works for cello and piano. Centered around the years following World War I, this program explores the dark and moody atmosphere in Europe, particularly amongst French composers such as Gabriel Faure and Yvonne Desportes. The musical style straddles the late Romantic and early Modern period, featuring extensive music by women composers of the 20th century. The program concludes on a hopeful note with Jessie Montgomery's "Peace," written in 2020 during the global pandemic.

February 21 at 7:30 p.m.  |  Recital Hall, CA 3066

Opening Reception & Artist Talk - Mina Cheon: Haunted Koreas

Join Mina Cheon to explore the HAUNTED KOREAS: Dreaming Unification Protest Peace exhibition together and gain insights into how she creates art to advocate for positive change. Mina Cheon (PhD, MFA) is a global Korean new media artist, scholar, and educator who divides her time between Baltimore, New York, and Seoul, Korea. Born in Seoul to parents who were originally from the North, Cheon has never known a unified Korea. She has worked on North Korean awareness and global peace projects since 2004 and her specific focus on East Asia reflects the transgenerational trauma of Korea’s history, particularly division, war, and Japanese colonization.

February 22 at 5:30 p.m.  |  Asian Arts Gallery, CA 2037

Intersegmental 38 with the Baltimore Composers Forum

How do we cross over the border with music? How do we prompt unity? This concert of works by diverse members of the Baltimore Composers Forum draws inspiration from Mina Choen’s series of “Unification Dream” paintings. Featured composers include Jin-Hwa Choi, Se-Yeon Oh, Anna Rubin, Ha-Eun Lee, Young-Wook Lee, Keith Kramer, Garth Baxter, Janice Macaulay, Gavin Brown, Ljiljana Becker, Ian Rashkin, and Ariyo Shahry. Featured performers include Ji Eun Kim (soprano), Soyeun Jung (gayageum), Youngik Jang (guitar), and Bonghee Lee (piano).

February 22 at 6:30 p.m.  |  Recital Hall, CA 3066

Experimental and Improvised Music Night

Join us for an evening of experimental and improvised music by TU faculty, students and guests. Tonight's music is created in the moment and defies genre or stylistic expectations. The result is an experience that it is unique and not to be missed!

February 25 at 8 p.m.  |  Recital Hall, CA 3066

Lecture: Artist Stephanie Garmey

Garmey, featured in Reverie&Alchemy, creates work in a variety of media approaches including sculpture, encaustics, book arts, embroidery, and cut paper. She explores the natural world with a sense of whimsy, curiosity, and love towards all things natural, and is inspired by her collections of natural objects and taxidermy. Garmey received a BFA and MFA from Maryland Institute College of Art, and an MA in painting from Purdue University of Indiana. She teaches at Maryland Institute College of Art.

February 27 at 6:30 p.m.  |  Art Lecture Hall, CA 2032

Exhibition ǀ Reverie&Alchemy

The Cabinet of Curiosity was born of the existential desire to understand and control the world, to conspicuously display status and learnedness, and to create the story of self and community. Each object in a Cabinet nods towards epic adventure and, taken as a whole, tells a symbolic story that presents the viewer with essential questions about the transience of human life and our place in the world. The artists and collections in this exhibition together tell a wondrously complicated and contradictory tale about this particular place and its inhabitants, both current and in the past. Who are we, who were we, and who do we want to be?

Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.

January 31 – April 19  |  Center for the Arts Gallery, CA 3040

Exhibition ǀ MFA Candidate Cody Pryseski: Adverse Childhood Experiences and the Emotional Response

Pryseski's paintings explore the emotional impact of childhood traumas including emasculation, sexual and physical abuse, bullying, low self-worth, and emotional pain. This journey manifests in the deconstruction and distortion of the image.

Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.  |  Artist talk in the gallery February 12 at 12 p.m.

Artwork: Big Wheel, 1980, 2023, 46” x 30”, Mixed Media on Panel

January 31 – March 14  |  Holtzman MFA Gallery, CA 2040

Exhibition ǀ MFA Candidate Nguyên Khôi Nguyễn: Every Day A New Page

Nguyên Khôi Nguyễn employs a variety of media—rooted in drawing and music—to explore fatherhood, grief, and the Vietnamese-American experience.

Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.  |  Artist talk in the gallery February 12 at 12 p.m.

Artwork: Đau Buồn/Chia Buồn Date, 2024

January 31 – March 14  |  Holtzman MFA Gallery, CA 2040

Exhibition ǀ MFA Candidate Lolo Gem: Hidden In Plain Sight

Gem finds a rich world in things unseen, hidden, and overlooked. This exhibition navigates and parses the internal landscape, informed by principles of Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, analytical psychology, and the artist’s personal narrative.

Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.  |  Artist talk in the gallery February 12 at 12 p.m.

Artwork: Lolo Gem, Lost In Translation, acrylic and pastel on canvas, 25x30in

January 31 – March 14  |  Holtzman MFA Gallery, CA 2040

Exhibition | MFA Candidate Tara Youngborg: not a town but a landing page

Youngborg uses digital technologies to create immersive installations. Through techniques of glitch, loss, and layering, Youngborg uses the archive in conjunction with contemporary data to try and recreate a ghost without its community, ultimately questioning the role of data, archives, and reproduction in understanding place, loss and memory.

Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.  |  Artist talk in the gallery February 12 at 12 p.m.

Artwork: Tara Youngborg, still from not a town but a landing page, Digital Video, 2024

January 31 – March 14  |  Holtzman MFA Gallery, CA 2040

Exhibition | Haunted Koreas: Dreaming Unification Protest Peace

View the most extensive collection of global activist artist Mina Cheon’s series of “Unification Dream” paintings, a new perspective on the flags of a unified Korea. Each of these paintings, born from the artist’s stream of unconsciousness, is a powerful peace protest, shedding light on the intricacies of communication, love, and a shared vision of a harmonious future for North and South Korea. The call for unification within the Koreas is a concerted effort to desire peace on earth, because to dream for global peace is about healing and reconciliation of tempered worlds divided.

Gallery Hours: Monday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

February 12 – May 17  |  Asian Arts Gallery, CA 2037