Irving Arts Center’s Sizzling September

Sept. 2-3 | North America Bangladesh Convention

Presented by Bangladeshi American Community of Texas

$15 per day

A two-day showcase of Bangladeshi Heritage and Culture will be held over the Labor Day weekend. Visit TicketFios.com/NABC for tickets and information.

Sept. 7 | JumpstART Stories & Art: Alphabet Soup

10 a.m. | Free

Come for some morning fun with letters while reading stories, and participate in art projects inspired by the letters of the alphabet.

Sept. 10 | Second Sunday Funday: Paint it! + Teen

Open Studio

1 to 4 p.m. | Free

Grab a paintbrush, and go with the flow to create colorful compositions inspired by nature and imagination. Fun for all ages!

Sept. 16 | Sandra Mbuyi Gospel Concert

Presented by The Oasis Group

4:30 p.m. | Ticket Price TBD

Renowned Congolese singer Sandra Mbuyi performs at Irving Arts Center.

Sept. 22 | TGIF Comedy Nights: Eliot Chang

Presented by Irving Arts Center

7:30 p.m. | $22.50-$27.50

Irving Arts Center is pleased to introduce a new standup comedy series: TGIF Comedy Nights. Thank goodness it’s Friday. And thank goodness it’s funny! The third of these comedy nights features the comedy of Eliot Chang. Chang has been seen on his own Comedy Central Half Hour Special, E!’s “Chelsea Lately,” and Showtime, and has received millions of views on YouTube. Originally from New York City and now based in Los Angeles, he has toured in almost every state in America and parts of Europe and Asia. This comedian is also an actor and improviser, studying improv in New York at the Upright Citizens Brigade and then with Armando Diaz at the Magnet Theater.

Sept. 29 | Vasantosav

Presented by Bangladeshi American Community of Texas

7:30 p.m. | Ticket Price: $45-$109 Vasantosav is a tribute to the musical legend, Pandit Vasantrao Deshpande, rightfully graced by his grandson Rahul Deshpande, and the famous vocalist, Priyanka Barve. For tickets and more information, visit TheParashare.com

Sept. 30 | 4th Annual Volunteer Fair

Presented by Irving Arts Center

2 to 4 p.m. | Free

Looking for a way to get involved and give back to your community? Join Irving Arts Center to connect with local Irving-based nonprofits. Learn about the many great organizations, and the opportunities that they offer for community involvement by attending.

Sept. 30 | Im Hussein: My One and Only

Presented by NGM Entertainment

8 p.m. | $82.50-$127.50

Created by Najee Mondalek and the AJYAL Theatrical Group, the popular comedic character of Im Hussein returns to star in its newest production: “My One and Only.”

For more information about all activities planned, visit IrvingArtsCenter.com

Works by Benjamin Muñoz

Through Oct. 28 | Carpenter Lobby Gallery

Benjamin Muñoz is a Dallas-based multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans painting, installation and monumental printmaking. Muñoz grew up in the vibrant Chicano culture of Corpus Christi, Texas, where he found his voice by reflecting on his heritage, upbringing and surroundings. His work can be found in the public collections of The MexicArte Museum; The National Museum of Mexican Art; The Bernard A. Zuckerman Museum of Art; and extensive private collections, including the largest collection of Latino art in the world belonging to Gilberto Cardenas.

Vaquero: Genesis of the Texas Cowboy (Photographs by Bill Wittliff)

Sept. 9-Nov. 4 | Dupree Lobby Gallery

In the early 1970s, noted Texas historian Joe Frantz offered Bill Wittliff a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity — to visit a ranch in northern Mexico where the vaqueros still worked cattle in traditional ways. Wittliff photographed the vaqueros as they went about daily chores that had changed little since the first Mexican cowherders learned to work cattle from a horse's back. Wittliff captured the muscle, sweat and drama behind a way of life that now exists only in memory and in the photographs.

Over, Beyond, Between: Landscape and the Transcendent (Paintings by Dawn Waters Baker)

Sept. 9-Nov. 25 | Focus Gallery

Reception/Meet the Artist: Sept. 16, 6 to 8 p.m. Dawn Waters Baker was born and raised in the Philippines, moving to Dallas at the age of 19 to attend Dallas Baptist University. Through her art, Baker captures the emotional and spiritual landscape, translating the shared human story through the metaphor of nature.

Marking Space/Holding Time

Sept. 16-Nov. 11 | Main Gallery

Reception/Meet the Artist: Sept. 16, 6 to 8 p.m.

A group exhibition featuring women artists who are currently working in Texas and/or have deep Texas roots. Artists include Anne Allen, Daniela Maria Ferreira Cabeza-Vanegas, Lilian GarciaRoig, Mayuko Ono Gray, Annette Lawrence, Mihee Nahm, Philana Oliphant, Kim Cadmus Owens, Sherry Owens, Beverly Penn, Tanya Synar and Ellen Frances Tuchman.