University of North Texas

A welcome reception for renowned artist Nick Cave, artist-in-residence for the Institute for the Advancement of the Arts in the 2011-12 academic year, will be from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 21 at UNT on the Square. Admission is free.

Cave is known for his elaborate Soundsuits sculptures - wearable art made of such items as twigs, beads, sequins, Easter grass and dryer lint. When worn, his Soundsuits envelop the body, making sounds as the materials brush together.

Cave, whose work has been called "Must Be Seen to Be Believed" by the New York Times, is visiting UNT twice in the fall and twice in the spring to work with students, faculty members and community members in master classes, workshops and public lectures.

Cave also has been commissioned by the UNT Art Galleries and the institute to create a new performance piece that will take place on campus in the spring with collaborative partners from the College of Music, Department of Dance and Theatre and other UNT arts programs. The piece will incorporate 30 newly created Soundsuits in the shapes of horse-like forms that move through campus and evolve into hybrid beings.

"Nick Cave's residency and performance are significant for students as opportunities to interact with an artist who will not only share his extensive experience, but also allow students to participate as collaborators," said Tracee Robertson, UNT Art Galleries director. "This is an opportunity for students from different arts disciplines and colleges to engage with each other through their own aesthetic languages and approaches in creating a unified work of art. The strength and breadth of the arts at UNT have uniquely prepared us for this experience."

The Institute for the Advancement of the Arts was launched in October 2009 to showcase, support and advance excellence in the visual, performing and creative literary arts at UNT, among its faculty members and in conjunction with their renowned colleagues and collaborators.