{"id":164828,"date":"2026-04-09T09:00:53","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T13:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=164828"},"modified":"2026-04-09T11:46:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T15:46:39","slug":"artsgala-to-showcase-wright-state-students-artistic-growth-with-elegant-entertainment-extravaganza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2026\/04\/09\/artsgala-to-showcase-wright-state-students-artistic-growth-with-elegant-entertainment-extravaganza\/","title":{"rendered":"ArtsGala to showcase Wright State students\u2019 artistic growth with elegant entertainment extravaganza"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_164860\" style=\"width: 470px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2026\/04\/09\/artsgala-to-showcase-wright-state-students-artistic-growth-with-elegant-entertainment-extravaganza\/73324-caitlin-burdine-artsgala-4-5-25\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-164860\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-164860\" class=\"size-large wp-image-164860\" src=\"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/files\/2026\/04\/ArtsGala-73324_082-508x339.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"460\" height=\"307\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-164860\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wright State University\u2019s ArtsGala returns Saturday, April 11, in the Creative Arts Center, offering an evening of performances, fine dining and a silent auction to support student scholarships in theatre, dance, music, motion pictures and visual art.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>For dance major Emma McCaslin, it\u2019s a chance to give back for the support she\u2019s received, both financial and personal.<\/p>\n<p>For Linda Menz, it\u2019s an opportunity to highlight the arts\u2019 impact on the broader community.<\/p>\n<p>And for an estimated 700 patrons, it\u2019s an evening of elegant entertainment in support of a meaningful cause.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the spirit of Wright State University\u2019s ArtsGala, set for Saturday, April 11, in the Creative Arts Center. One of the region\u2019s premier arts events, ArtsGala showcases the talent of students in the School of Fine and Performing Arts.<\/p>\n<p>Since 2000, ArtsGala has raised more than $4 million, providing more than 2,500 scholarships for student artists.<\/p>\n<p>The festivities begin at 6 p.m. with a VIP reception, followed by the opening ceremony at 7 p.m. in Schuster Hall, with greetings by Wright State President Sue Edwards, Gary Schmidt, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, and Steven Aldridge, chair of the School of Fine and Performing Arts. Several students will perform previews of attractions available throughout the evening.<\/p>\n<p>ArtsGala tickets and event information are available at <a href=\"http:\/\/wright.edu\/artsgala\">wright.edu\/artsgala<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The theme of this year\u2019s ArtsGala is the Creative Garden.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt represents the growth of our students, and their blossoming into their art,\u201d said Rebecca Foley, ArtsGala coordinator.<\/p>\n<p>This year\u2019s event will feature performances and works by more than 300 fine and performing arts students.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe patrons can see what the students do and can interact with them,\u201d Foley said.<\/p>\n<p>Student performances include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Artists in motion \u2014 dance performance<\/li>\n<li>\u201cWe\u2019ve Got Magic to Do!\u201d \u2014 2026\u201327 theatre season preview<\/li>\n<li>Back to the \u201880s!\u201d \u2014 musical theatre revue<\/li>\n<li>Highlights of \u201c1776\u201d \u2014 musical theatre performance<\/li>\n<li>Percussion ensemble performance<\/li>\n<li>\u201cRhythm in Bloom\u201d \u2014 Manhattan-style jazz club<\/li>\n<li>Rainbow Room \u2014 interactive lighting<\/li>\n<li>Garden of Wonders \u2014showcase of motion picture students\u2019 wardrobe and production design work<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>ArtsGala also features a variety of dining rooms, including a biergarten with authentic German food by Amber Rose and beer by the Wandering Griffin Brewery, and a bourbon and cigar tent.<\/p>\n<p>Patrons can also bid on international and domestic trips, dinners and entertainment, and a wide variety of works from community artists during the silent auction.<\/p>\n<p>The auction will include <a href=\"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2026\/03\/30\/wright-states-annual-artsgala-auction-to-spotlight-student-artwork\/\">artwork by two Wright State students<\/a>: the photograph \u201cLightburst\u201d by sophomore Suvekshya Maharjan and a relief print, \u201cStill Life with Watering Can,\u201d by junior Mikail Berger-Messenger.<\/p>\n<p>Auction items will be available in the Stein Galleries, with bidding online at <a href=\"http:\/\/e.givesmart.com\/events\/M2J\/i\/\">e.givesmart.com\/events\/M2J\/i\/<\/a>.\u00a0Guests can view the items in person from 7 to 10:30 p.m. Supporters can also participate in the silent auction remotely, even if they are unable to attend ArtsGala.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_164862\" style=\"width: 470px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2026\/04\/09\/artsgala-to-showcase-wright-state-students-artistic-growth-with-elegant-entertainment-extravaganza\/73324-caitlin-burdine-artsgala-4-5-25-2\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-164862\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-164862\" class=\"size-large wp-image-164862\" src=\"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/files\/2026\/04\/ArtsGala-73324_135-508x339.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"460\" height=\"307\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-164862\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Since 2000, ArtsGala has raised more than $4 million, funding more than 2,500 scholarships for students in the School of Fine and Performing Arts.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Among the students who have benefited from ArtsGala\u2019s support is Emma McCaslin, a senior dance major from Avon, Indiana, who has received a scholarship from the event each of the past two years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt helped tremendously, being an out-of-state student,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>ArtsGala allows students to show patrons \u201cwhat we love to do and what they\u2019re supporting,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a fun night for us to put all this work in and for this beautiful, beautiful opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The show of support from the patrons goes beyond finances.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeing a dance major, you question a lot \u2014 the competitiveness of this career,\u201d McCaslin said. \u201cHaving this extra support from the scholarship tells me I\u2019m doing the right thing, and that my hard work is paying off.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After graduating in May, McCaslin plans to move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in commercial dance, including touring and film work.<\/p>\n<p>Linda Menz, co-chair of the ArtsGala Host Committee and director of underwriting for Discover Classical radio, said the event underscores the arts\u2019 value both at Wright State and across the region.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cArtsGala highlights the importance the arts play here and how they benefit the entire community,\u201d Menz said. \u201cIt makes Wright State look good and the community even better.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wright State ArtsGala returns Saturday, April 11, in the Creative Arts Center, offering an evening of performances, fine dining and a silent auction to support student scholarships in theatre, dance, music, motion pictures and visual art. <a href=\"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2026\/04\/09\/artsgala-to-showcase-wright-state-students-artistic-growth-with-elegant-entertainment-extravaganza\/\" class=\"morelink\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":164860,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,733,729,2037,4312,4859,2040,725,747,715,2082],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-164828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-alumni","category-around-campus","category-arts-scene","category-artsgala","category-fine-and-performing-arts","category-giving","category-home-news-sidebar","category-liberal-arts","category-news","category-robert-and-elaine-stein-art-galleries"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164828"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":164873,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164828\/revisions\/164873"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}