Experience the magic at BGSU ArtsX

Annual event takes place from 5 to 9 p.m. Dec. 7

Bowling Green State University’s ArtsX, the holiday showcase of BGSU student, faculty and alumni art, encourages guests of all ages to interact with and imagine the power and beauty of art.

The 15th annual event, from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, includes musical, theatrical and dance performances; exhibits and demonstrations; hands-on activities and art sales for holiday shoppers looking for unique, handmade gifts.

Also on display is the 70th annual School of Art Faculty/Staff Exhibition. The show in the Dorothy Uber Bryan Gallery includes 53 pieces ranging from an interactive immersive installation to intricate collages and prints, vivid paintings and lively jewelry. The diverse themes embrace humor, ecology, human drama and paeans to light, space, texture and form.

The art of storytelling through magic is at the heart of the 2019 ArtsX theme, “Experience the Magic,” featuring Stuart MacDonald, also known as one of the magicians who famously fooled Penn and Teller on the TV show “Fool Us.”

MacDonald will perform at 5:30 p.m. in the Thomas B. and Kathleen M. Donnell Theatre in the Wolfe Center for the Arts. A repeat performance will begin at 7. MacDonald made a decision to go pro in third grade. He put himself through college as a performer and became one of the top touring magic acts in the college market. He performed at more than 1,000 college campuses, hundreds of corporate events and as a cruise ship headliner. Ten years into touring, he took time off to create an experience that no one had ever seen before. After collaborating with other magicians, directors, MacDonald competed in the Internationals of Magic in 2017 and made history by sweeping the five top awards in the competition. He went on to fool Penn and Teller and achieve many titled accomplishments at competitions around the country and the world, including the World Championships of Magic in Busan, South Korea, where he received a standing ovation and placed in the top 10 on his first try.

ArtsX is free and open to the public and parking is also free. Activities take place in the Fine Arts Center and the Wolfe Center for the Arts. For more information, visit bgsu.edu/artsx.