Wright State’s ArtsGala celebrates the power of artistic growth while supporting student scholarships

Wright State University’s ArtsGala, one of the Dayton region’s most festive and unique arts events, returned to the Creative Arts Center on April 11, bringing together several hundred student performances for an evening of theatre, dance, motion pictures, music and visual arts.

Since 2000, ArtsGala has raised more than $4 million for scholarships supporting fine and performing arts students, making it one of Wright State’s signature events.

Now in its 27th year, ArtsGala featured a full program of student performances highlighting the breadth of Wright State’s creative arts programs.

The theme of this year’s event, Creative Garden, reflected student development. “It represents the growth of our students, and their blossoming into their art,” said Rebecca Foley, ArtsGala coordinator.

“This is the most exciting arts event in the Dayton region,” said Gary Schmidt, Ph.D., dean of the College of Liberal Arts. “It’s an incredible benefit to support all of our students in the fine and performing arts at Wright State University.”

Ciarah Hill Jenkins, a junior motion pictures major and ArtsGala Scholarship recipient, said the award helps cover her tuition with any remaining funds supporting her film projects.

“Short films take a lot of money so I usually just put all of the money that I get from scholarships towards that,” she said.