The Office of the Arts at Georgia Tech today presents its new season celebrating the high-tech intersection of art, engineering, science, design and media.

The Arts@Tech season – the organization’s 27^th – commences Jan. 12 following a recently completed fall 2018 renovation to update the Ferst Center for the Arts.  

Since the 2014-15 season, the venue charted a new direction for professional arts programming. Following a few years of experimentation, for the first time the new season consists solely of work that brings together the latest in technology with artistic presentation across a range of genres, from music and dance to media arts, theatrical works, and works that provide a mix-up of multiple presentation styles.

Audiences will experience a hologram concert with a virtual pop star, performers with 3D printed costumes, and a beautiful video game played live to live music. These experiences and more combine for a season carefully curated at the intersection of art and technology. Georgia Tech is unique in the nation in presenting a performing arts season exclusively at this intersection.

Offering these exciting and innovative performances in the fully refurbished Ferst Center for the Arts is something the venue team hopes Georgia Tech students, Atlantans and visitors will share and enjoy. The renovation of the theater space features the installation of new seating, along with other renovations such as new lighting, carpeting and upgrades to the accessible seating areas. The building remained open during fall for events and exhibitions scheduled in the Ferst lobby, for which updates took place in 2016.

Performances of the new Arts@Tech season will take place at the Ferst Center for the Arts, 349 Ferst Drive NW, Atlanta, Ga. 30332. Discounted ticket packages and individual tickets are available from the Ferst Center Box Office at 404-894-9600. Information is also available at www.arts.gatech.edu. All programs are subject to change.  The new season includes:

Manual Cinema: The End of TV

January 12, 2019 at 8 p.m. – $36

Set in a post-industrial Rust Belt city in the 1990s, The End of TV explores the quest to find meaning amidst a constant barrage of commercial images. The presentation features cinematic shadow puppetry and lo-fi live video, with music performed live by a five-piece band. 

The End of TV depicts the stories of Flo and Louise, both residents of a fictional Midwestern city. Flo is an elderly white woman who was once a supervisor at the thriving local auto plant. Now succumbing to dementia, the memories of her life are tangled with television commercials and the “call now” demands of QVC. Louise, a young black woman laid off from her job when the same local auto plant closed, meets Flo when she takes a job as a Meals-on-Wheels driver. An unlikely relationship grows as Flo approaches the end of her life and Louise prepares for the invention of a new one.

Komansé Dance Theater: Skid

January 25-26, 2019 at 8 p.m. – $30

Skid is a celebration of the vulnerability and strength of humanity. Komansé Dance Theater takes a provocative look at homelessness and gentrification in the metro Atlanta area and beyond. Using an innovative set design and featuring 3D printed costumes, this production brings together dance and technological innovation to embody the human connection between art and social justice.                                                                                                                   

Fifth House Ensemble: Journey Live

February 9, 2019 at 8 p.m. – $36

The video game Journey, described by critics as “the most beautiful game of its time,” takes center stage as Chicago-based Fifth House Ensemble teams up with composer Austin Wintory to present an original, interactive live performance of his Grammy-nominated score. Fifth House Ensemble performs the game's soundtrack as audience members play the game on stage. The calming, beautiful and emotional video game comes to life in an immersive, interactive environment.

Mark Nizer: 4D Comedy Juggler

February 16, 2019 at 8 p.m. – $28

World champion juggler, award-winning comedian and inventor Mark Nizer brings his live 3D show to the stage; juggling laser beams, glowing red balls, and just about any new invention he can imagine. Nizer is constantly incorporating new technology into his hilarious performances.

Maya Kodes: The Virtual Singer

March 29, 2019 at 8 p.m. – $36

Maya Kodes is a singer who released a dance pop song on iTunes, recorded an EP, performed over 30 concerts and amassed over 5,500 Facebook followers … all as a hologram! The world’s first interactive real-time virtual pop star, Kodes is the creation of Neweb Labs in Montreal. Local dancers will join Maya onstage for this performance.