The University of Toledo Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of its director, Dr. Matthew Forte, assistant professor of music, will perform Gustav Holst’s celebratory celestial work, “The Planets,” Friday, Dec. 6, at 8 p.m. in the Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle.

The orchestra will be accompanied by the ethereal voices of the Rocket Choristers, under the direction of Dr. Brad Pierson, director of choral activities and assistant professor of music.

They will perform all seven movements — Mars, the Bringer of War; Venus, the Bringer of Peace; Mercury, the Winged Messenger; Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity; Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age; Uranus, the Magician; and Neptune, the Mystic.

Each movement of the work, written between 1914 and 1916, captures the unique essence and personality of each of the planets known to be in the solar system and visible from Earth in Holst’s time.

Tickets are $10 for general admission and $5 for seniors 60 and older, and any students or children.

Tickets are available in advance from the Center for Performing Arts Box Office at 419.530.ARTS (2787) or online on the School of Visual and Performing Arts’ website. Tickets also will be available at the door.

Parking is free to museum members; otherwise, parking is $8. UToledo employees and students with University parking privileges can park free in the lot by the Center for the Visual Arts; just show your UToledo ID.

The University of Toledo Rocket Marching Band will take its show from the field to the Valentine Theatre. The Sounds of the Stadium concert will be held Friday, Nov. 22, at 8 p.m. at the historic venue located at 410 Adams St. in Toledo.

The Rocket Marching Band will perform music from its 2019 fall season.

Highlights of the program will include the music of Motown, Top 40 hits, car-culture tunes, and traditional UToledo favorites.

Tickets are $9 each. Discount tickets are available for groups of 10 or more. Tickets are available through the UToledo Center for Performing Arts Box Office at 419.530.ARTS (2787) and on the School of Visual and Performing Arts’ website.

Tickets also are available through the Valentine Theatre Box Office at 419.242.ARTS (2787) and on the Valentine Theatre website.

The University of Toledo will host an exhibition of more than a dozen panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt in recognition of World AIDS Day.

The exhibit, which is a partnership between the UToledo Department of Art at the Center for the Visual Arts and The University of Toledo Medical Center Ryan White Program, will run from Friday, Nov. 15, through Friday, Dec. 6, in the Center for the Visual Arts Gallery.

A free, public lecture featuring Jeanne White-Ginder will open the exhibition Friday, Nov. 15, at 6 p.m. in the Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle.

White-Ginder is the mother of Ryan White, an Indiana teenager who contracted HIV in the mid 1980s following a blood transfusion. Their fight against discrimination and for him to return to school gained national attention. He had become a face of the AIDS crisis in America by the time he died in 1990 at the age of 18.

Shortly after his death, Congress passed a bill to establish a federally funded program to care for people with HIV/AIDS that would eventually carry his name as the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program.

White-Ginder has remained a steadfast HIV/AIDS activist, fighting against stigma and advocating for testing as a way to reduce and prevent spread of the disease.

“I want to be around to see the end of AIDS, and I think we’re close to that. This is something Ryan started and advocated so hard for. I enjoy talking about Ryan’s life and the difference he made,” she said. “I think it’s important now to hear stories of those affected. That’s why the quilt coming to Toledo is important. You actually see the faces and the stories. These people were loved and they were cared about. We do not want these people forgotten.”

Joining White-Ginder at the kickoff event will be Robert Sember, an artist, researcher and educator, whose work focuses on the intersection of public health and art. He’s a part-time faculty member at the New School in New York City.

The AIDS Memorial Quilt was started in 1987. In the three decades since, it has grown to include more than 48,000 panels. Nearly 100,000 individuals are memorialized on the quilt.

Panels to be displayed locally include several recognizing individuals from northwest Ohio, as well as a number of well-known artists, photographers, filmmakers and activists.

The exhibit is supported by the Ann Wayson Locher Memorial Fund for HIV Care.

Dr. Mysoon Rizk, a UToledo professor of art history and one of the organizers of the exhibit, said as the AIDS epidemic spread in the 1980s, artistic communities in major U.S. cities such as New York were hit particularly hard. Because of that, she said, artists have played an important role in fighting to change attitudes toward the disease and giving voice to what it means to be affected.

“Staging such an exhibition makes for educational opportunities to focus discussion on AIDS and HIV, both of which still ravage many communities around the world and both of which remain associated with stigmatizing experiences,” Rizk said. “Young people who never learned about the history of the AIDS crisis may experience consciousness-raising and greater awareness about diseases, whether transmitted sexually or by any other means, such as blood transfusions, as well as to learn about the incredible UTMC Ryan White Program.”

The Ryan White Program at UTMC offers high-quality comprehensive care for individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDS. The program offers adult primary care, mental health counseling, case management, advocacy and HIV testing in Lucas County and the surrounding area. In 2018, the program served more than 1,000 individuals.

The UToledo Opera Workshop Ensemble will present two of Gian Carlo Menotti’s best-loved one-act operas in a performance titled “The Magic of Menotti” Friday through Sunday, Nov. 15-17.

The ensemble will perform “The Telephone” and “Amelia Goes to the Ball” in two different performance settings — a dinner show and a traditional theatre performance.

In “The Telephone,” a young man, ready to propose, finds it impossible to break through his love’s addiction to her phone. The UToledo Opera ensemble gives this classic comedy an update for the smartphone era.

UToledo music students Ashley Roarke, soprano, and Sam Spencer, baritone, will play Lucy and Ben.

The title says it all: “Amelia Goes to the Ball” and — spoiler alert — she goes! Nothing will stop this young socialite from attending the most anticipated ball of the season — not her husband, not her lover, nor their battle for her affections.

UToledo music students featured in the opera are Paige Chapman, soprano; Catharine Jordan, soprano; Seth Johnson, tenor; Justin Harris, bass baritone; Taylor Waldfogel, soprano; Kailyn Wilson, soprano; Katherine Kuhlman, mezzo-soprano; Danielle Demeo, soprano; Ashley Roark, soprano; Sam Spencer, baritone; Brandon Warren, tenor; and Tingzhi Wu, tenor.

Production crew members are Dr. Emily K. Oehrtman, visiting assistant professor of voice, producer and co-director; Wayne Anthony, adjunct professor of voice, pianist and co-director; Seth Johnson, graduate student, costume crew coordinator; and Justin Harris, graduate student, set and prop crew coordinator.

Dinner show performances will be held at the Carranor Hunt and Polo Club, 502 E. 2nd St. in Perrysburg, Friday, Nov. 15, at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 17, at 5 p.m. A dinner show ticket includes both operas and a meal of prime rib or chicken Marsala, as well as salad, dessert buffet, coffee, tea and water. A cash bar also will be available; however, no credit cards will be accepted at the bar. There is a 10% discount on two or more dinner show tickets. Use the promo code UT Opera when purchasing.

Tickets to the dinner shows are $50 general admission; $45 for all UToledo employees and alumni, seniors 60 and older, and members of the military; and $40 for students and children. Dinner show tickets are only available in advance. Purchase tickets by Wednesday, Nov. 13.

The traditional theatre performance will be held Saturday, Nov. 16, at 8 p.m. in the Center for Performing Arts Recital Hall. Tickets to the traditional performance are $15 general admission; $12 for all UToledo employees and alumni, seniors 60 and older, and members of the military; $10 for students and children; and free for UToledo students with ID. Tickets to this performance are available in advance or at the door.

Advance tickets to any of the performances are available through the UToledo Center for Performing Arts Box Office. Call 419.530.ARTS (2787) or go to the School of Visual and Performing Arts’ website.

The University of Toledo Department of Theatre and Film will present “The Jungle,” an award-winning adaptation of Upton Sinclair’s novel, written and directed by Matt Foss, UToledo assistant professor of theatre.

Performances will take place Friday through Sunday, Nov. 8-10 and 15-17, in the Center for Performing Arts Center Theatre. Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; Sunday shows are at 2 p.m.

Sinclair’s landmark novel, written in 1906, exposed the appalling working conditions of immigrants employed in Chicago’s meat-packing industry. Originally written to shed light on issues surrounding workers, immigrants and the growing income disparity in America, Sinclair commented that he aimed for the public’s heart, but ultimately only “hit it in the stomach.”

The book prompted transformative changes throughout the industry and led to the development of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but had little to no effect on immigration, poverty or workers’ rights.

The production features a large cast who stream over a three-story set, using printmaking techniques to create a turn-of-the-century packinghouse. Extensive choreography created by Abby Glanville, academic advisor in the College of Arts and Letters — along with design and technical work by Drew Parmelee, senior film/video major, associate sound designer; Kelly McBane, lecturer of theatre, costume shop manager; Stephen Sakowski, assistant professor of theatre, lighting and sound designer; Daniel Thobias, associate professor of theatre, production designer; and Nathaniel White, assistant lecturer of theatre, technical director and scene shop manager — create a dynamic, 90-minute telling of this classic novel.

Foss adapted and directed Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” for Oracle Productions in Chicago in 2014. That production received Chicago Jeff Award Nominations for outstanding production, director, ensemble, and won for best new adaptation.

The cast features Jordyn Beery, sophomore theatre major; Maggie Carder, freshman media communications major; Erin Coyne, sophomore theatre major; Emily Damschroder, sophomore theatre major; Jeffery Enck, freshman theatre design and technology major; Dona Gamblin, freshman theatre major; Sarena Jackson, 2019 UToledo theatre alumna; Shaquira Jackson, senior theatre major; Maya Kinney, freshman theatre major; Andrew R. Kleopfer, senior theatre major; Ben Kunec, sophomore theatre and communication double major; Becca Lustic, senior theatre major; Olivia Manias, junior creative writing major; Grace E. Mulinix, Toledo Early College High School senior and UToledo theatre major; Faith E. Murphy, senior theatre major; Alexandria Rayford-West, junior creative writing and theatre double major; Victoria Rinker, senior theatre major; Ezekiel Roberts, Toledo Early College High School junior and UToledo theatre major; Dillon Sickels, sophomore theatre major; Alec Simon. sophomore theatre major; Eve Smith, sophomore theatre major; Charlotte Vaughn, theatre major; and Kyle Yerg, senior philosophy and literature double major.

Members of the design team are Holly Monsos, interim chair of the Department of Theatre and Film, producer; Katelyn Justice, sophomore theatre major, paint charge; Matthew Kerr, electrical engineering major, assistant lighting designer; Addison Toth, sophomore theatre major, stage manager; Jared Kaplan, freshman political science major, and Elise Pahl, junior, theatre design and technology major, assistant stage managers; Christopher M. Montpetit, lecturer of theatre, theatre/production manager; and Imani Hudson, junior theatre major, house manager.

Tickets are $10 for students; $12 for UToledo faculty, staff and alumni, and military members and seniors; and $18 for the general public. Call 419.530.ARTS (2787) or go to the School of Visual and Performing Arts’ website. Tickets also will be available at the door.

Eamon King remembers watching an artist working with a fiery-orange blob of molten glass.

“I was a kid on a field trip to Sauder Village in Archbold, Ohio,” he said. “That’s when my passion for glass began.”

When he was 16, he took a glassblowing class at the Toledo Museum of Art.

“My first piece was a very ugly paperweight that only my mother would love, so it was a gift to her while I was in high school,” King said and laughed. “She still has it.”

These days his hot work is turning heads.

Check out “Recycled Reflections Through Human Chemistry,” which is on display this semester on the fifth floor of Carlson Library. King created the fantastical mirrors and glass skeleton for his master of liberal studies degree, which he received in May.

“When I created the figure and the mirrors, I thought about how similar we all are as human beings on the inside. We all have the same needs and are built from similar DNA with the most minute differences in traits,” King said.

From sketching to glassblowing to flameworking, the project took about one year. He needed to bone up on anatomy.

“A typical adult skeleton has 206 bones. In my project, I made some changes to the overall skeleton to incorporate scientific glass pieces into the bone structure,” he explained. “All of the glass bones are welded or sealed together and actually consist of only 12 individual pieces that are supported on the metal armature I built.

“For example, in my figure, the spine doesn’t have each individual vertebrae; I used double manifold systems, or Schlenk lines, that are common in chemistry labs and that I built for the spine instead of duplicating vertebrae. I then blew holes and sealed all the ribs and sternum into the manifolds instead of vertebrae. The only bones that are left out from the skeleton other than the spine are the patellas and the hyoid bone.”

King is familiar with scientific glass: He is a part-time glass shop assistant in the UToledo Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

“Eamon King is a very gifted artistic glassblower who has made huge strides in scientific glass,” said Steven D. Moder, master scientific glassblower in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, who mentored King for his master’s degree project. “The glass skeleton had a variety of scientific pieces that Eamon was able to pull together for a beautiful, artistic, scientific sculpture.”

In addition to being artful, King is all about recycling.

“I built the frames to hold the large glass pieces for this project. I constructed the frames from wood floor joists that were reclaimed lumber from a renovation of a more than 100-year-old building project in downtown Toledo,” King said.

The cool mirrors feature 100-plus glass pieces that received a reflective coating. King then placed the individual pieces around the larger mirrors.

“The University of Toledo allowed me to create my own program through the Master of Liberal Studies Program, and I worked with Steve Moder in the Scientific Glassblowing Lab, where I learned a whole different skill set,” King said.

As an undergraduate at UToledo, King traveled overseas to learn about Murano glass and worked with traditional Venetian artists. After receiving a bachelor of arts degree from the University in 2008, he taught glassblowing and flameworking at the Toledo Museum of Art for 12 years.

“Compared to working as an artist in area studios the past 15 years, this adventure in precision glassware for chemistry apparatus has been a big change for me,” King said.

“Eamon will keep the argument thriving on whether scientific glass is artistic or highly technical,” Moder said.

Over the summer, King traveled to Corning, N.Y., for a weeklong symposium with the American Scientific Glassblowing Society.

“I had the opportunity to work with and meet many skilled scientific flameworkers from around the world,” King said.

The UToledo alumnus is pursuing a career as an artist while working with Moder in the glass shop.

And doors continue to open: King recently was one of seven artists selected to make a glass key for the city of Toledo.

“I enjoy working with glass due to its limited lifespan and fragile nature,” King said. “It is a constant reminder that if it is not treated with care and respect, it could be destroyed, and eventually, it will be, very similarly to ourselves.”

“An Inspired Age: Selections of 18th-Century European Art From the Collection” will open Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Toledo Museum of Art in Gallery 18.

“An Inspired Age” is organized by The University of Toledo Department of Art students in Art Museum Practices Exhibition and New Media Design Practices courses under the direction of Dr. Thor J. Mednick, UToledo associate professor of art history, and Dr. Lawrence W. Nichols, the William Hutton Senior Curator, European and American Painting and Sculpture before 1900 at the Toledo Museum of Art.

The temporary exhibition, running through Jan. 5, features 13 paintings and three sculptures.

The exhibition course, which is the last of three classes in the art museum practices curriculum, offers students the opportunity to work with a Toledo Museum of Art curator to develop an exhibition using works of art from the museum’s permanent collection. The purpose is to give students a hands-on understanding of the workings of a fine arts museum and to prepare them for a career in this field.

“The Toledo Museum of Art has a vast collection, and this allows visitors to see some of the art that has been off view while providing students real-life experience in many aspects of curating an exhibition,” Nichols said. “It has been rewarding to see the next generation of museum professionals use their education to develop this exhibition.”

The opportunity has been invaluable for the students, Mednick explained.

“Working with a world-class, private museum is a rare opportunity in museum studies courses,” Mednick said. “And to have the thoughtful and generous help of a senior curator is extraordinary.”

“An Inspired Age: Selections of 18th-Century European Art From the Collection” is sponsored by the Ohio Arts Council with additional support from 2019 Exhibition Program Sponsor ProMedica.

Admission to the Toledo Museum of Art is free. The museum is open Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.; and is closed Monday and major holidays. Thursday evening hours are sponsored by Huntington Private Client Group.

The museum is located at 2445 Monroe St. at Scottwood Avenue. It is by the Center for the Visual Arts on the University’s Toledo Museum of Art Campus.

For general information, call 419.255.8000 or 800.644.6862, or visit the Toledo Museum of Art website.

Cytoskeletons serve as the internal frame for individual cells, providing the structural support that allows a wide variety of essential cellular functions to happen.

Under the right light and magnification, cytoskeletons also can be incredibly beautiful.

On Friday, Sept. 27, The University of Toledo will host the third annual CellulART, a regional scientific meeting that blends cutting-edge cytoskeleton research and art.

“In the cytoskeletal field, you’re constantly trying to think about what’s the best or most aesthetically pleasing way you can present your research,” said Maura Graves, a doctoral student in the UToledo Department of Biological Sciences. “In a way, you have to think like an artist. What’s the most beautiful way you can take this image from microscopy and engage with your audience?”

Graves is the lead organizer for this year’s event, working alongside fellow biological sciences doctoral students Sushil Khanal and Debatrayee Sinha.

The event will be held from 8:15 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. in the Center for the Visual Arts on the University’s Toledo Museum of Art Campus.

Like most scientific meetings, CellulART features a series of lectures and poster presentations. Unique to this event is the addition of artwork created by both cytoskeletal researchers and UToledo art students who have reinterpreted scientific data and images.

Fifteen regional universities are participating, including Notre Dame, Ohio State, Loyola and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

This year’s keynote speaker at 1 p.m. is Dr. Bruce Goode, professor of biology at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., who is widely recognized as one of the country’s preeminent cytoskeletal researchers.

“Dr. Goode is at the forefront of his field. He’s pushing the limits in a lot of different ways, not only in the nature of his discoveries, but also in the technology he’s using. He’s one of the world leaders of the new generation of cytoskeleton researchers,” said Dr. Rafael Garcia-Mata, UToledo associate professor of biological sciences and one of the event creators.

The event also will feature a presentation and artwork by Dr. Ahna Skop, a professor in the Department of Genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Event sponsors include the American Society for Cell Biology, the Journal of Cell Science, Thermo Fisher Scientific, New England Biolabs, Ibidi and Cytokeleton Inc.

For more information, visit the CellulART website.

In the wake of high-profile sex trafficking charges against financier Jeffrey Epstein and singer R. Kelly, this dark world of modern-day slavery is under an intense spotlight and garnering global attention.

Survivors, researchers and advocates around the world are coming together this week for the 16th Annual International Human Trafficking and Social Justice Conference at The University of Toledo.

This year marks the largest event since the conference began at UToledo in 2004 and for the first time features an art exhibit in collaboration with the UToledo Department of Art to raise critical consciousness for social justice.

“We are proud so many people want to learn about human trafficking,” said Dr. Celia Williamson, Distinguished University Professor and director of the UToledo Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute. “Our conference brings sex and labor trafficking out of the shadows and helps end abuse. More than ever before, we have the opportunity to educate, collaborate and save lives.”

The conference, which — to date — has welcomed presenters from 42 states and 30 countries, is Thursday and Friday, Sept. 19 and 20, in the Thompson Student Union on Main Campus.

UToledo’s Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute and the Lucas County Human Trafficking Coalition host the conference.

Williamson recently published a new book titled “A Seat at the Table: The Courage to Care About Trafficking Victims,” which tells her life story and transition from at-risk for trafficking to a world-renown social worker and researcher, working directly with victims and revolutionizing global anti-trafficking efforts.

At this year’s conference, Williamson will unveil her new, free human trafficking risk assessment tool (HTRISK) that she developed with support from the Ohio Children’s Trust Fund, as well as release the findings from her study of 400 Ohio youth. That presentation will be Friday, Sept. 20, at 9 a.m. in the Thompson Student Union Ingman Room. Watch the livestream on the UToledo Alumni Association website.

“With limited time, money and resources, advocates need to know which youth are at the highest risk for sex trafficking and then do their best to prevent it,” Williamson said.

On Wednesday, Sept. 18, from 9 to 10 a.m., 475 high school students from the area will gather in the Thompson Student Union Auditorium for Human Trafficking 101, where they also will learn about dating violence and participate in a poetry slam.

For a full schedule of presentations, visit the conference website.

New this year, the UToledo Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute and the College of Arts and Letters partnered together for an art exhibit titled “Faces of Trafficking,” which features people from the greater Toledo community who are leading the fight to end trafficking.

“It is an opportunity to bring to life the people impacted by human trafficking and to provide a path for the community to join the fight,” Barbara Miner, professor and chair of the UToledo Department of Art, said.

The tall black-and-white photography installation called “The Pillars” features people on the front lines in the war against trafficking.

“These are warriors holding up the ceiling of hope,” Miner said. “Using an arresting, striking style, we’re showcasing people like Celia Williamson as well as medical and law enforcement professionals among others who work under the radar and often go unnoticed, but who are working tirelessly to protect people suffering through contemporary slavery.”

Artwork created by current and former art students in response to trafficking stories and the global issue also will be on display.

The free, public exhibit can be see from Thursday, Sept. 19, through Friday, Dec. 6, at the UToledo Center for the Visual Arts on the University’s Toledo Museum of Art Campus. Gallery hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The UToledo Center for the Visual Arts also is featuring a special project, “A Thousand Hands, A Million Stars,” a collaboration uniting visual art, poetry, music and dance produced by former UToledo faculty member Denise Ritter Bernardini.

The University of Toledo is teaming up with the Toledo Museum of Art to bring author and visual literacy expert Sunni Brown to the Glass City as part of the Jesup Scott Honors College Distinguished Lecture Series.

Brown, author of “The Doodle Revolution,” will give an interactive lecture Thursday, Sept. 12, at 6 p.m. in the Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle.

Brown is known for her large-scale, live content visualizations, and she is also the leader of the Doodle Revolution — a growing effort to debunk the myth that doodling is a distraction. Using common sense, experience and neuroscience, she is proving that to doodle is to ignite your whole mind.

“This will be a fun, interactive event as Sunni engages with the audience,” said Mike Deetsch, director of education and engagement at the Toledo Museum of Art. “Her work has an element of gamification and play that elevates her visual dialogue and will appeal to a wide audience.”

The interactive lecture is geared to teachers, students and business professionals who work in teams.

“The Jesup Scott Honors College Distinguished Lecture Series brings innovative thinkers and doers to campus for all of the Toledo area to enjoy. Sunni Brown is an amazing speaker who will change the way you think about teamwork and brainstorming,” said Dr. Heidi Appel, dean of the Jesup Scott Honors College.

“Her talk is part of the exciting collaboration between The University of Toledo and the Toledo Museum of Art to enhance the skills of visual literacy,” Appel said. “Visual thinking fuels creativity and innovation, and knowing how to use, make and interpret visual images makes all of our students more successful.”

After the free, public lecture, Brown will sign her books, which will be available for sale.

To register for the free, public event, go to the Distinguished Lecture Series website.