The fine arts will come out of the Fine Arts Building Feb. 7 as Southwestern hosts its second SU Arts Festival.

The festival, organized by senior Natalie Moore, is designed to showcase the finest of the music, theatre and arts on campus. It will run from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and provide activities for all ages.

Among the highlights of this year’s festival will be a one-woman show by 2007 graduate Natalie Goodnow. The show is titled “Muntu,” which means both “tree” and “person” in the Kikongo language. Goodnow’s show will translate this dichotomy on the stage as she explores the relationships between trees and people, old Austin and its changing cultural landscape, and ultimately between the author and her many selves.

Goodnow recently performed “Muntu” in the Teatro Fest at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center in San Antonio, as well as in Teatro Vivo’s collection of new works, Voces de Vivo, in Austin, and in Hyde Park Theater’s Frontera Fest. The show incorporates the artistic talents of Southwestern students Travis Jeffords and Josh Casiano and alumnus Cliff Miller, as well as Rupert Reyes, Marisela Barrera and Leticia Rodriguez. Goodnow has received support for “Muntu” from the City of Austin’s Cultural Arts Division, the Texas Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

“Muntu” will be performed at 5 p.m. in the Bishop’s Lounge on the first floor of the McCombs Campus Center. It will wrap up a day of performances in the Bishop’s Lounge that will also include the following:

10 a.m. - Southwestern String Quartet

10:30 a.m. - Southwestern Flute Ensemble

11 a.m. - Southwestern Percussion Group                

12 p.m. ­- Jazz Ensemble

1 p.m. - Alexander Technique demonstrations

2 p.m. - Delta Omicron Musicale

4 p.m. - Yoga

The Alexander Technique demonstrations will show a system of body awareness designed to promote well-being by ensuring minimum effort in maintaining postures and carrying out movements. Alexander Technique specialist Kathleen Juhl will coach a vocalist, brass player and actor during the demonstration. Each of the performers will open with a performance, followed by a critique from Juhl. They will perform the same piece again to demonstrate improvement.

The Delta Omicron Musicale will feature solo performances by members of Delta Omicron, the professional music fraternity on campus, accompanied by David Utterback.

Concurrent with the performances in the Bishop’s Lounge, a variety of activities and exhibits will be available in the atrium of Mood-Bridwell Hall and the McCombs Ballrooms.

Activities taking place in Mood Atrium include face painting, t-shirt decorating, recycled wind chime making and glurch putty making. There also will be a calligraphy demonstration led by Southwestern alumnus Rob Goldey from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and an  

instrument petting zoo, in which visitors are welcome to touch and try various instruments, from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. An instrument demonstration will be held at 2:30 p.m.

The Art Association will host the SU Arts Festival Exhibition in the McCombs Ballrooms. The exhibition will include paintings, ceramics and sculptures by students.

Moore started the SU Arts Festival last year with the sponsorship of the King Creativity Fund.

“The Arts Festival was an idea that I came up with to help make Delta Omicron a more visible student organization,” Moore said. “Southwestern is a small school, but it is surprising how isolated we are to our respected departments. I believe that the Arts Festival provides an opportunity for Southwestern and the Georgetown community to come together and celebrate the talents of our students and professors.”

This year, Moore received additional funding for the festival from the McMichael Student Experience Enrichment Fund and the Paideia Program. A variety of downtown merchants - including the Monument Café, Down the Alley Bistro, Silver and Stone restaurant, Wildfire restaurant and the Hill Country Bookstore - also have contributed prizes for a raffle that will benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Georgetown. The raffle drawing will be held at 3 p.m. in the Bishop’s Lounge. Chipotle is providing a free lunch to the first 100 attendees at 11:30 a.m.

Beyond financial support, the festival will encourage local children in a more personal manner. Suzy Pukys, director of civic engagement, has arranged to bus members of the Georgetown Boys and Girls Club and students from Duck University in Taylor (an afterschool program for students in kindergarten through eighth grade) to the festival so they can experience the arts in a unique and interactive way.

“I believe that the Arts Festival provides an opportunity for Southwestern to do some community outreach,” Moore said. After she graduates from Southwestern in May, Moore plans to pursue a master’s degree in arts administration and develop programs to expose inner-city children to the arts.

For more information on this year’s SU Arts Festival, visit
http://southwestern.edu/sarofim/suartsfestival/