The faculty of Stetson University’s Department of Creative Arts worked with the Atlantic Center for the Arts (ACA) to bring three master artists to campus for public lectures on Oct. 21 and 23.

“The ACA is a world-class multidisciplinary arts residency program in New Smyrna Beach with a long history of partnership with Stetson University in supporting the arts,” said Rusty Witek, Ph.D., professor of humanities and holder of the Kathleen A. Johnson Chair in Humanities, with an interest in graphic novels, comic books, and comic strips.”

“The connection between the ACA and Stetson in the area of graphic novels has been especially close,” continued Witek. “So when several years ago the ACA decided to expanded its residencies program to include graphic novelists, Nick Conroy, the ACA’s Residency Director, asked me for suggestions for possible Master Artists in the field. Of the many accomplished cartoonists and graphic novelists I knew, Josh Neufeld was among the first to come to mind.”

Josh Neufeld is an award-winning non-fiction comic journalist and graphic novelist known for his New York Times best-selling work, A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge, among other works. Sponsored by Witek for this event, Neufeld will visit Stetson at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21, in the duPont-Ball Library, room 25L, 134 E. Minnesota Ave. The presentation will be followed by a Q & A and a book-signing.

“I am extremely excited,” said Witek. “Josh Neufeld’s work has been contributing to this university’s values in our classrooms for over a decade. His stories of recent college graduates traveling and living abroad resonate deeply with Stetson students, many of whom have or soon hope to travel internationally, and his masterwork on Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath is both familiar and challenging for students who may themselves have directly experienced riding out a hurricane or evacuating out of a hurricane’s path. His presentation promises to be a very special event.”

Jonty Harrison is an award-winning electroacoustic music composer from the UK whose music has been performed and broadcasted worldwide. He will visit Stetson on Tuesday Oct. 21, in the dupont-Ball Library, room 25L, at 11:30 a.m. His visit is sponsored by Nathan Wolek, Ph.D., associate professor of digital arts and music technology and Fulbright Scholar, with research interests in advanced signal processing techniques, multimedia performance, and electronic music history.

Aram Bartholl is an award-winning conceptual artist from Berlin, known for his exploration and examination of the relationship between the digital and physical worlds. His work, “Map,” is pictured left. He will visit Stetson on Thursday, Oct. 23, in the Rinker Auditorium inside the Lynn Business Center, 345 N. Woodland Blvd., at 7 p.m. His visit is sponsored by Matthew Roberts, M.F.A., associate professor of digital arts, with research interests in augmented reality, physical computing, interactive media and more.

The public is invited, free of charge to all three events. For more information call Stetson University’s Department of Creative Arts at 386.822.7266 or visit [email protected].

by George Salis