Students and faculty from Marshall University’s School of Art and Design will play a part in “Reinventing and Reinvesting in the Local for Our Common Good” at this weekend’s 51st annual meeting of the Southern Anthropological Association at the Big Sandy Conference Center in Huntington.
“Art and Life: An Exhibition of Work by Visual Art Majors in Marshall University’s School of Art and Design and College of Arts and Media,” will be on view in the Dogwood Room throughout the conference and will feature work by 10 visual arts seniors: Tanya Abbett, Courtney Childers, Michael Gallimore, Paige Grimaldi, Kaitlyn Hartford, Lydia Lake, Ashley Loftis, Kayla Shapley, Ashley Taylor and Eryn Wilson. The school’s director, Sandra Reed, curated the event, identifying works from senior visual art majors who are currently completing their capstone projects. The artists will be present on Friday, April 8, for a special session, “Talk with the Artists: Life and Art,” scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to noon.
The exhibition will feature a remarkable variety of work that ranges from a crocheted pelt; photographs of the “Real WV;” backlit laser-cut figures; paintings; an oversize vase; a life-size, freestanding original character; a hand-made table with a three-tiered, laser-cut top; and a quilt created from original cyanotype portraits.
A walking panel through the Visual Arts Center will take place from 10:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday. Pete Massing, professor of printmaking, is the panel chair, and he will be joined by Edward Tucker architect Phoebe Patton Randolph; Hayson Harrison, associate professor of graphic design; Hanna Kozlowski-Slone, assistant professor of foundations; and Reed. The panel and tour are titled “Marshall University’s Visual Arts Center: Community Synergy by Design.”
“The panel will focus on how the context and design of the Visual Arts Center support a community synergy,” said Reed. “Phoebe will discuss preservation aspects of the building as well as the ‘anthropological’ process of working with faculty and staff to understand their processes and needs in order to configure the space to what was hopefully its highest and best use.”
Opened in 2014, the six-story Visual Arts Center on 3rd Avenue has worked to bridge the gap between Marshall and the Huntington community, pumping hundreds of students into the downtown area and playing host to community drawing sessions, public seminars and exhibitions.
“The School of Art and Design’s involvement in the meeting highlights the collaborative, expressive nature of ‘Reinventing and Reinvesting in the Local for Our Common Good,’ ” said Dr. Brian Hoey, chair of the conference and Marshall associate professor of anthropology. “I hope the meeting will span the link between Marshall and the Huntington community to help lead a positive impact for the common good.”
Registration information for the 51st Annual Meeting of the Southern Anthropological Society can be found athttp://mds.marshall.edu/sas_conference/.