Creative Alliance’s Art To Dine For Highlights TU Community Members

Press release from Towson University:

By Rebecca Kirkman on October 23, 2020

Illustration by Book Karnjanakit. (Courtesy of Creative Alliance)

In November, art lovers will have the chance to screen and discuss short documentaries
with Towson University MFA student and documentary filmmaker Khalid Ali and virtually
visit the home of associate professor Aaron Ziegel and his wife Audra, as the duo
perform classical compositions for flute and piano.

The intimate conversations are part of the annual Art to Dine For series, which gathers people to celebrate art, culture and delicious food. Sponsored
by Towson University’s College of Fine Arts & Communication (COFAC) and staged by the Creative Alliance, Art to Dine For supports the Baltimore
art organization’s free and reduced-price art, youth education and outreach programs.

Typically, each party host welcomes the public into their homes, lofts, studios or
workplaces for an insider’s view of Baltimore’s art scene. In response to the novel
coronavirus pandemic, Art to Dine For has moved to a virtual format in 2020 for the
series’ 20th anniversary.

Art to Dine For is part of a broader collaboration between COFAC and the Creative
Alliance since 2013.

“Partnering with Creative Alliance allows us to support and participate in many exceptional
programs such as bringing Artesanas Mexicanas to campus for student workshops, showcasing
our faculty and students in the Art to Dine For series, and working with the Creative
Alliance to help determine programming and curriculum for their soon-to-be-built Creativity
Center,” says COFAC Associate Dean Greg Faller, who serves on the Art to Dine For
committee. “Creative Alliance is a regional treasure and COFAC is very excited to
continue to collaborate with them.”

Learn more and buy tickets for the Art to Dine For events below.

Behind the Lens: Khalid Ali ShortsNov. 6, 7:30 p.m.

Find the best seat in your house for a screening and discussion of two short documentary
films by Maryland filmmaker and Towson University MFA student Khalid Ali, whose exhibition
“Honest Living” is currently on view at the Holzman MFA Gallery and online.

“Squeegee” (2019) gives an intimate glimpse of the lives of seven young men who clean
car windows at Baltimore City intersections. “Away from the Grasslands” (2015) examines
Hanggai, a Mongolian band that blends rock and traditional folk music, as the group
records an album in Beijing.

Join Ali and his media partner and photographer Brad Ziegler for a discussion after
the screening. Tickets include a snack pack of concession stand favorites or a pint
of Charmery ice cream.

Free Verse!Nov. 13, 7 p.m.

Join husband and wife duo Aaron and Audra Ziegel for a concert and conversation as
they perform a selection of classical compositions for flute and piano in their home.
Audra Ziegel, a flutist, will share the couple’s collaborative process honed over
18 years of performing together, and Aaron Ziegel, a pianist and associate professor
of music history and culture at TU, will offer a deeper understanding of the music
through insights and stories.

After the performance, engage in a lively discussion surrounding a contemporary work
by New York composer Glen Cortese that is a musical response to Walt Whitman’s poem
“I Dream’d in a Dream.” Tickets include an artisanal chocolate sampler from Baltimore-based
Wockenfuss Candies.

This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel’s priorities for Towson University: TU Matters to Maryland.

This press release was produced by Towson University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.