BANGOR — Fine art is making an appearance in a big way this year at the nine-day KahBang Festival running through Saturday, Aug. 13 in the downtown.

The festival’s dynamite lineup of concerts and films has attracted a large and growing audience over the past three years. This time around, people will experience a multifaceted celebration of music, film and art for the first time.

“All the great events and festivals take the best of all three,” said Megan Shorette, executive director of the nonprofit KahBang Arts, which launched March 17.

Bangor’s temporary hub of fine art is the Kaleidoscope Gallery at 1 Merchant Square, organized and funded by KahBang Arts, Shorette and a nine-member board of directors. The 9,700-square-foot corporate space has been transformed with sculpture, screen-printing, painting, installations, mixed media, photography, graphic design and experimental video art.

Out of about 50 submissions, the gallery artists who were chosen for the juried show are Autumn Tierney of Bangor, tattoo artist, mixed media artist and painter; Jeffrey Prymowicz of Hampden, fifth-year studio art and new media double major at the University of Maine; Rama Brown of Boston, sculptor; Abbeth Russell of Portland, painter; Kris Johnsen of Portland, designer and screen printer; Heather Small of Bangor, digital artist; David Cox of Orono, photographer and Taylor Bone of Bangor, conceptual artist.

Twelve additional Maine College of Art students or recent graduates traveled north from Southern Maine to join the exhibition, a group organized by Angela Warren and Seth Gass.

The Kaleidoscope Gallery is more like a series of galleries (once business offices) connected by a long hall that circles around, with both ends starting at the lobby. Artists were free to display their work according to their own creativity. Many offices were occupied by just one artist, a mini solo exhibition or installation.

“Heather Small is creating a conceptual Jack in the Box,” said Shorette. “It’s an interactive piece where viewers go in a room and become a part of her exhibit.”

Kim Vose Jones hung white fabric from the tiled ceiling in a way that hints that the ceiling is melting and piling up on the floor. Of course, the installation can be perceived in a number of ways, but it’s not something usually seen in an otherwise plain corporate room.

“It’s unique because it’s not a gallery space. It used to be a bank,” said Warren. “There’s a corporate feeling, but then you have these works of art. The work of Maddy Ray, for example, isn’t anything you would see in a corporate space. It’s not clean, not organized. It’s completely opposite of that.”

In Ray’s corner office is a humorous, fantastical and slightly haunting arrangement of found objects: a mirror piled on a paint-splattered mattress piled on a pink sofa piled on a broken desk. A chair dangles from the ceiling. A floor lamp is turned on. Paper litters the floor.

Just a few doors down are the sculptures, assemblages and acrylic paintings of Rama Brown. The breathtaking pieces are displayed on pedestals or hung neatly with labels on the white walls.

All money earned from artwork sales (with the exception of Cox’s photos) will go to the artists, who have left contact information for people wishing to purchase their work.

For those looking to view the art in a social atmosphere, KahBang will host Bangor Greendrinks at the Kaleidoscope Gallery from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11. KahBang also will host Artist Mixer 2011 at the Kaleidoscope Gallery from 8 to 11 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13. Both events are open to the public and admission is by donation.

Besides the gallery, KahBang Arts will curate a Sculpture Park on the Bangor Waterfront the weekend of Aug. 12, sending off the festival with the outdoor art of Steven Brooks of Naples, Nathan Nicholls of Waldoboro and Sebastian Meade of Freeport.

Fire jugglers, street musicians, hula-hoopers, living dolls, stilt walkers and stunt bikers answered a call sent out in April for KahBang street performers, who will perform from 1 to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Aug. 12 and 13.

Juggling team Aether Arts, bike performer Joe McArlington, comedian Travis Cowing and solo bassist Joe Gates are among the lineup for performance artists.

Kaleidoscope Gallery is open Saturday, Aug. 6, through Saturday, Aug. 13. Hours of operation are available at kahbang.com/art/art-schedule. For information about the arts events at Kahbang Festival 2011, visit kahbang.com/art.

The KahBang Festival will culminate with the two-day music festival on on Aug. 12-13 on the Bangor Waterfront. Featured will be national headliners such as My Morning Jacket, Lupe Fiasco, Atmosphere, Chromeo and Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, plus more than 40 other bands from all over the country.