Gateway Students Showcase Talent At Spring Soiree April 22
, - April 17, 2009
Cosmetology, visual communication and writing students at Gateway Community and Technical College will showcase their skills at the college’s Spring Soiree April 22 at The Carnegie Visual + Performing Arts Center here. The event is sponsored by the Gateway Community and Technical College Foundation.
“The first of its kind for Gateway, this show is a fusion of talent, including a hair show, visual art, music and poetry,” said Toni Bloom, chair of the college’s business and management services division and one of the event organizers. “In addition to our students, the Poetry Jam portion of the evening features poet Frank X. Walker.”
A native of Danville, Ky., Walker is a multidisciplinary artist. He is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and completed an MFA in Writing at Spalding University in May 2003. He has lectured, conducted workshops, read poetry and exhibited at over 300 national conferences and universities including the Verbal Arts Centre in Derry, Northern Ireland; Santiago, Cuba; University of California at Berkeley; Notre Dame; Louisiana State University at Alexandria; University of Washington; Virginia Tech; Radford University; and Appalachian State University. He is a founding member of the Affrilachian Poets and a recipient of the Al Smith Fellowship from the Kentucky Arts Council. He also received the 2006 Thomas D. Clark Literary Award for Excellence, the Actors Theatre’s Keeper of the Chronicle Award and was a 2005 recipient of the Lannan Literary Fellowship in Poetry.
“We are thrilled to have a poet of Frank Walker’s stature on the program,” said Rock Neelly, a GCTC English instructor and Spring Soiree committee member. “Between the edginess of the hair show, the quality of the poetry, the visual portfolios of our students, and the excitement of live music by the Digits, this event is simply too good to miss.
The evening starts with a reception at 6 p.m., followed by the hair and makeup show, music by the Digits and the Poetry Jam. The visual communication student portfolio exhibit will be accessible all evening. The event is open to the public. Student admission is free with student identification. General admission tickets are $5 in advance and $7 at the door. Call 859-442-4113 for more information and advance ticket purchase. |
