Galleries
The Fine Arts Center Galleries offer a wide range of free exhibitions and events to all area community members in support of the BGSU vision: As a public university, BGSU focuses on contributing to the public good and embraces its role as a national model in addressing the educational, economic, and social vitality of our region, the state of Ohio, the nation, and the world.
Our exhibitions include challenging and engaging contemporary work by nationally recognized artists as well as faculty and student shows that highlight some of the most talented and successful artists of this region. Visitors are invited to explore collaborative, diverse, and inclusive events and presentations that foreground political, social and cultural themes through dialogue, creative ideas and new knowledge.
The Ohio Arts Council helped fund the BGSU Fine Arts Center Galleries with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.
The Ohio Arts Council receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
FEATURED
The Great Lake Erie
MONDAY, OCTOBER 21
5:00pm Art Talk: Frank Gohlke with an introduction by Lynn Whitney, Thomas B. and Kathleen M. Donnell Theatre at the Wolfe Center for the Arts
6:15pm Reception for the Artists Dorothy Uber Bryan Bryan Gallery Lobby, Fine Arts Center
Photographs by Frank Gohlke and Lynn Whitney
Lake Erie: On the Edge
Linda Butler is an internationally known, prize-winning fine-arts photographer and activist. Her photographs are featured in "Lake Erie: On the Edge" an exhibition (Sept. 20-Nov. 24) in the Willard Wankelman Gallery in the Fine Arts Center at BGSU.
News and Stories
From science to art: All ‘eyes’ at BGSU on water quality
This fall at Bowling Green State University, the worldwide issue of water quality is crossing the boundaries of literature, science and art. The BGSU Galleries is hosting a series of events that focus on water issues, including two photography exhibitions, artist talks and a performance. In November, an expert panel will discuss “The Future of Lake Erie,” and students from the arts, sciences and humanities will give poster and art presentations. All events are free and open to the public. Read More
Mary Beckinsale, one of the School of Art's closest international partners and a recipient of an honorary degree from BGSU, passed away on Sunday.
Mary Beckinsale, one of the School of Art's closest international partners and a recipient of an honorary degree from BGSU, passed away on September 22, 2019. She was critical to the mission and success of SACI (Studio Art College International) in Florence, Italy, since 1985, when she became Dean of the program and initiated SACI's partnership with the School of Art at BGSU in 1993. She then became Director and President of SACI, until her retirement in 2013. Together with her husband, Jules Maidoff, SACI's founder, Mary transformed and grew the program's curriculum, consolidated facilities into two permanent historic palazzi in the city center, made lasting cultural partnerships with the Florentine beni e culturali department and city's museums, initiated public arts programming, exhibitions, conferences, and publications, developed outreach and social welfare programs, and more. Her impact cannot be overstated. The faculty and students of BGSU have lost a good friend and champion of our program. We extend our love to Jules and the entire SACI community. Read More
All exhibitions are free and the public is welcome.
All galleries are wheelchair accessible with the exception of the upper level of the Wankelman Gallery.
Gallery Hours:
Tuesday through Saturday 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Thursday 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Sunday 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
These hours may change during summer exhibitions - please check the exhibition description!
The Galleries are also open by special appointment for group visits.
The Fine Arts Center gratefully recognizes generous support from:
The Ohio Arts Council
BGSU Ethnic Cultural Arts Program
IGNITING CHANGE: TEACHING ARTISTS AND SOCIAL PRACTICE
Juror: Saul Ostrow
Sponsored by David and Myrna Bryan and the Bryan Family Fund at the Toledo Community Foundation
This year's SculptureX symposium and its associated exhibitions explore Social Practice, which has long been a powerful means of challenging existing norms and conditions. Juror Saul Ostrow selected 22 artworks from the 130 that were submitted by 48 artists. He divided them into categories of Places, Identities, Bodies and Things. The objects in the show embrace goals of community engagement, interactive installation, political action and environmental awareness.
This exhibition is part of a significant and broad alliance among many area arts organizations, including Bowling Green State University School of Art, University of Toledo, Owens Community College, and the Toledo Museum of Art. The exhibitions coincide with the 2018 SculptureX symposium, on September 28 and 29, with events at BGSU on the 29th. Programming for the two-day event includes keynote addresses by Mel Chin and Laurie Jo Reynolds, presentations by noted artists from around the region, evening networking events, and guided tours of Toledo Museum of Art, University of Toledo Center for the Visual Arts, and each of the six exhibitions.
SEPTEMBER 29 (See all scheduled Symposium events)
- 10AM I Dorothy Uber Bryan Gallery Gallery Talk with Mel Chin
- 4PM I Thomas B. and Kathleen M. Donnell Theatre in the Wolfe Center for the Arts. Saul Ostrow, followed by a reception at the gallery
Saul Ostrow is an independent critic, curator and art editor at large for Bomb Magazine. He edited the book series Critical Voices in Art, Theory and Culture, for Routledge Press, and founded Critical Practices Inc.
MEL CHIN: FROM THE OTHER SIDE
Internationally acclaimed artist Mel Chin is known for the broad range of approaches in his art, including works that involve multi-disciplinary, collaborative teamwork and cross-cultural aesthetics. He arrives in Toledo on the heels of All Over the Place, a New York-based exhibition spanning nearly four decades of his wide-ranging approach to artistic practice. From April to August 2018, his work, including four newly commissioned works, appeared in multiple exhibition sites throughout the city, including the Queens Museum, Times Square, and the Broadway-Lafayette subway station. [for more: http://melchin.org/oeuvre/mel-chin]
SEPTEMBER 12 – OCTOBER 21
So Much More: Ohio’s African American Artists
Sponsored by ECAP
This exhibition was developed in honor of Bernie Casey, an illustrious BGSU alumnus whom we lost last year. The exhibition title results from the enormous array of talent that Casey demonstrated during his lifetime. He was best known to the world as an actor and professional football player, and came to BGSU on an athletic scholarship, but he graduated with a master’s degree in fine art.
Bernie Casey pursued his love of painting and poetry throughout his life, with published books and solo exhibitions of his work. In his honor, BGSU will showcase some of his work, along with other African-American and Black artists who either attended BGSU, have roots in Ohio or befriended Bernie along the way. Includes 11 BGSU alumni and current students. Willard Wankelman Gallery
