Downtown Bryan is set to showcase exhibits from the Department of Visualization May 2-5, featuring virtual reality and interactive art, as well as more traditional pieces.
Viz-a-GoGo, now in its 25th year, is an annual exhibition put on by the Department of Visualization showcasing undergraduate and graduate students’ works from the past year. It features sculpture, traditional and digital flatwork, photography, interactive projects such as virtual reality experiences and video games, installation work and other new media. This year’s theme is “Event Horizon,” which celebrates previous Viz-a-GoGos while looking forward to the event’s future.
According to Melissa Butcher, visualization graduate student, the event culminates on the last day with a screening, which is an opportunity for people to see animations, class reels and other time-based work.
“I think it’s a cool opportunity for students to feel like their work is seen and important, and inform the community about what’s happening within the viz department, but also, in the greater picture, what sort of technology is developing and arising and what is happening in the broader world as well,” Butcher said.
The community can view exhibitions in various venues in Downtown Bryan, including The Ice House on Main, The Palace Theatre, Viz North Gallery and Studio and Blackwater Draw Brewing Co.
According to Sebastian Kawar, visualization graduate student, this will be the first year the department has created an in-depth, immersive installation for a specific venue.
“This year at the exhibition venue, at the Ice House, we will be doing an installation that is designed for that space, so something that’s going to happen only at the ice house and it will be kind of an immersive and interactive installation,” Kawar said.
Alexandra Hueste, visualization senior, said she grew up attending Viz-a-GoGo every year, and is now involved in planning the event.
“I went to my first Viz-a-GoGo when I was 12 because I’m from College Station, and this has always been in the back of my mind,” Hueste said. “I think it’s really cool because it came full circle. I’ve been to Viz-a-GoGos even before I was a student and I thought it was a cool opportunity to be a part of the team planning it.”
Hueste said this event highlights a lesser-known aspect of Bryan-College Station and Texas A&M.
“In Bryan-College Station, I don’t think the first thing that comes to mind is art and design,” Hueste said. “Of course there are amazing artists and designers in the area, but this is just a public platform to sort of reach out to the community and show the locals what we have going on.”
Kawar said he encourages everyone to come to Viz-a-GoGo and enjoy the variety of projects from A&M students.
“It’s kind of hard to overstate the amount of stuff that goes into this event,” Kawar said. “There’s going to be something cool for you, whether you’re into landscapes, or you’re into abstract art or the really cool tech art. There’s something for everybody.”