NORFOLK – Northeast Community College will highlight fine and performing arts of its students during a special day on the Norfolk campus in early May.
Poetry, prose, performance, graphic design and art are among areas that will be featured during the College’s Arts Expo on Thur., May 5, beginning at 3 p.m., in Union 73 and the Cox Activities Center.
Connie Sixta, associate dean of business and humanities, said the event will showcase creative works by Northeast students.
“Students in art, creative writing, graphic design, theatre, music, and media arts will be participating in the event, and tours of the Media Arts facilities in the Cox Activities Center will be available after the performances,” she said.
From 3-4 p.m., in Union 73, awards will be presented to students who place first and second in both poetry and prose, readings will be held and the 2022 edition of Voices Out of Nowhere will be unveiled. The publication includes stories, poetry, and artwork written and created by Northeast students. Additionally, the winning artist whose selection is picked for the Voice Out of Nowhere cover will be presented a framed copy of the cover.
Voices Out of Nowhere is an anthology that dates back to the 1970s. It is a collection of student art work, creative writing and photography that is published annually by the English Department under the supervision of Bonnie Johnson-Bartee, English instructor.
The works are judged by published poets and writers and staff from the Norfolk Arts Center for inclusion into the publication. These include Sherry Ruden, of the Norfolk Arts Center, who picked the winning artwork; JV Brummels, former English instructor at Wayne State College, and Scott Abels, English instructor at Northeast, selected the winning poetry, while Jen Ippensen, director of library services at Northeast, and Neil Harrison, former Northeast English instructor, chose the winning prose pieces.
Voices Out of Nowhere books will be available at no cost. Also in Union 73, student artwork will be on display and Media Arts videos will be featured.
From 4:15-6 p.m., in the Cox Activities Center, Northeast theatre students will present light, sound and costume/prop designs from this year’s stage play of Crazytown by Jonathan Rand. Media Arts students will make presentations while Northeast band students will be featured in a saxophone quartet performing Ben Buxton’s “Two Step” and a brass sextet playing “Castillia.” Members of the Concert Choir will perform ““I Want It That Way” and “Riversong.” Tours of the Media Arts facilities will be available, too.
To conclude the day, theatre students will debut their production of Crazytown in the Cox Activities Center Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 for students, $10 for adults and free for those with a Northeast ID.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the arts at Northeast Community College … and what better time is there to do that than with the release of our latest edition of Voices Out of Nowhere and the opening night of the theatre department’s student production. We encourage students and others interested in the arts to come out and enjoy these events with us,” Sixta said.
The Northeast Community College Arts Expos is free and open to the public.
--###--
PHOTO CUTLINE
Northeast Community College students (from left) Elise Fjell, Stromsburg, Darla Mae Dumo, Dakota City, Courtney Ullarich, Norfolk, and Hailey Noffsinger, Haigler, look over a draft of the 2022 Voices Out of Nowhere, a publication that includes stories, poetry, and artwork written and created by students at the College.