In its 13-year history, ARTSGALA has raised more than $1.4 million to fund over 400 scholarships for students in the fine and performing arts at Wright State University. Everyone benefits from this unique event. Sponsors and patrons join many community friends to enjoy a spectacular evening featuring the best Wright State has to offer in art, music, theatre, dance and motion pictures and the students benefit from the scholarships raised.
This scholarship money is crucial for our arts programs and students. The funds help departments attract and retain top-notch, talented students without whom we could not maintain our high caliber programs. The arts programs are rigorous and very demanding of students’ time. Many students are in class, training, and rehearsals all day long and have little time for their studies rather than worrying about fully funding their education.
Scholarship Testimonials
We asked some of our arts alumni what receiving the ARTSGALA scholarship meant to them, and here is what they had to say:
- “Receiving an ARTSGALA scholarship was wonderful because it allowed me to bring my education to the forefront. It’s the gift that allowed me to singularly focus on reaching my goals.”
- “As an independent student supporting myself, paying full tuition and attending classes full time was difficult, but the ARTSGALA scholarship freed me from enough of the financial burden to concentrate on my studies, and even excel at them.”
- “Receiving the ARTSGALA scholarship was an affirmation that I was on the right track in choosing to continue my art education.”
- “I was the first person in my entire family to graduate with a bachelor’s degree. My parents worked hard to give us everything we had, so it was very gratifying to receive an ARTSGALA scholarship based on my musical talent.”
- "ARTSGALA scholarship meant opportunity to me! I now get the opportunity to spread such an attitude of unselfish compassion with today’s young people, as I stand before them and share my incredible love for music.”
Success Stories
ARTSGALA scholarships allow our students to graduate with fewer student loans, a big concern in today’s society. They allow them to focus more time and energy to honing their craft, which gives them more opportunities for success upon graduation. Here are just a few success stories of our recent ARTSGALA graduates:
- Blaine Boyd, 2011 BFA Musical Theatre: Blaine is working in Seattle at the 5th Avenue Theatre, their biggest musical theatre producing organization. He has instantly made a name for himself there as a strong singer/dancer. He has a commitment from 5th Avenue Theatre for two more shows, taking him through early 2013. Then, he plans to move to NYC.
- Nicholaus Arnold, 2008 BFA Printmaking: Nicholaus earned an MFA in printmaking from Syracuse University and has been showing nationally. He had a show in Chelsea NYC and another at the DUMBO Arts Center. Along with the Dayton-based art collective Broken Dayton Art Machine, he has helped curate shows across the country in cities such as Syracuse, NY; Knoxville, TN; Pittsburgh, PA; Portland, OR; and Portland, ME.
- Richard “Andy” Miller, 2009 Percussion Performance: Andy earned his master's in percussion performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He played principal timpani and percussion with the University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra, won the 2010 orchestra concerto competition, and performed as section percussion with both the Champaign-Urbana Symphony and Sinfonia da Camera (two regional orchestras). He also had the great opportunity to study and live with master drummer Bolokada Conde, who is revered as one of the world’s foremost Djembe players.
