The State of Art in the Region
At Ball State, we recognize the importance of experiencing the arts. And we want the community to have access to that experience. Arts Alive is an opportunity for Ball State students, faculty, staff and the greater Muncie community to experience world-class arts and artists at a fraction of the cost to see the same artists in major cities. Arts Alive is about exposing central Indiana to great art through classes, lectures, performances, and exhibits. Our performing arts facilities are beautiful and state of the art.
Arts Alive Schedule
- Formed in 2002, the career achievements of Soweto Gospel Choir are phenomenal. To list but some:
- They have collaborated with Peter Gabriel, U2, John Legend, Robert Plant, Chance the Rapper and Ben Harper.
- They have performed on stage with Celine Dion, Andre Rieu, Bono, Diana Ross, Zahara, and Pharrell Williams.
- They have performed in programs alongside the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Black Eyed Peas, Shakira, Angelique Kidjo, Jimmy Cliff, Youssou N’Dour, Ziggy Marley, and South African superstar Johnny Clegg, including at his farewell concert.
The Choir has performed in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House, Royal Festival Hall London and Nelson Mandela Theatre. Further, they have performed at such important events as the 2009 Academy Awards, Nelson Mandela’s funeral, memorial service in Westminster Abbey, centenary celebrations; Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s funeral (as well as his 75th and 80th birthdays) the FIFA 2009 World Cup opening ceremony in Cape Town and kick-off in Johannesburg; and Winnie Madikileza-Mandela’s memorial service.
In addition to Nelson Mandela and their once patron, Desmond Tutu, they have performed before Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Prince Charles and Camilla, Prince Harry, Princess Charlene of Monaco, and a plethora of TV personalities, celebrities, glitteraties, dignitaries, ambassadors, movie stars and rock stars.
The Choir has also appeared on NBC’s Today Show and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Their festival appearances include Edinburgh, Adelaide (Festival and Fringe), Perth, Sydney, Hong Kong, London, WOMADelaide and the Montreal Jazz Festival.
Soweto Gospel Choir has been nominated for five Grammys, an Oscar (with Peter Gabriel), six South African Music Awards (SAMAs), as well as an International Reggae and World Music Award The Choir has been awarded three Grammys in their own right and three associated ones, an Emmy Award, three SAMAs, two American Gospel Awards, the inaugural Tower Music African Gospel Award for best gospel group, and a Helpmann Award.
- Jeffrey Gibson (b. 1972, Colorado Springs, CO; lives and works in New York) grew up in major urban centers in the United States, Germany, Korea, and the U.K. A mid-career multidisciplinary artist, he is a citizen of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and half Cherokee, whose practice includes sculpture, painting, printmaking, video, and performance. Gibson earned his Master of Arts in painting at the Royal College of Art, London, in 1998 and his Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1995. His work is in the permanent collections of the Denver Art Museum; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian; National Gallery of Canada; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art; the Museum of Modern Art; and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Gibson is a past TED Foundation Fellow and a Joan Mitchell Grant recipient. He is a recipient of the 2019 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. He is an artist-in-residence at Bard College and lives and works near Hudson, New York. Gibson currently represents the United States at the 60th edition of La Biennale di Venezia. He is the first Indigenous artist to represent the United States with a solo presentation in the national pavilion.