The Valdosta State University Department of Art will kick off Art Faculty Exhibition 2015 with a reception and dedication ceremony from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 21. The public is welcome to attend.
 
“This very popular annual event is where art faculty members show that they don’t just ‘talk the talk’ but also ‘walk the walk,’ as all studio instructors are also practicing artists,” said Julie A. Bowland, professor, noted landscape painter, and Fine Arts Gallery director.  
 
All full-time art faculty members are invited to participate in Art Faculty Exhibition 2015, and because VSU boasts such an eclectic mix of talent, art enthusiasts will find a little bit of everything in the annual exhibit, from photography and ceramics to paintings and drawings to jewelry, sculptures, prints, animation, graphic design, interior design, and more. Participating faculty exhibitors are Hollis Barnett, Julie Bowland, Tommy Crane, Clyde Edwards, Mark Errol, J. Dominick Gheesling, Craig Hawkins, Abigail Heuss, Karin Murray, Selena Nawrocki, Kyoung-Im Park, A. Blake Pearce, Michael Schmidt, and Kalina Winska.
 
Throughout the opening reception, attendees will have an opportunity to meet the participating artists, listen to live jazz by the Department of Music’s Faculty Jazz Combo, and view the multi-media exhibition featuring “a wide variety of media, aesthetic outlooks, and visual expression representing the broad range of interests and talents of the VSU art faculty,” shared Bowland. They will also have an opportunity to hear from Jesse and Dedo Maranville and learn more about their commitment to supporting the arts at Valdosta State.
 
“VSU Foundation Board of Trustees Chairman Jesse Maranville and his wife, Dedo, have made a significant gift to create an endowment to support scholarships for art students, as well as to support the Fine Arts Gallery, at VSU,” said John Crawford, vice president for University Advancement. “In recognition of the Maranvilles’ remarkable generosity, the university has named the gallery in the Fine Arts Building the Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery.”
 
The Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery will be dedicated during the opening reception of the annual Art Faculty Exhibition. Crawford noted that Dedo Maranville is a practicing artist specializing in pottery and was recently featured in an exhibition at the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts. Jesse Maranville is president of Georgia Gulf Sulfur Corporation.
 
The Art Faculty Exhibition will remain open to visitors through Friday, Oct. 9.
 
VSU’s Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery is located on the first floor of the Fine Arts Building, at the intersection of Brookwood Drive and Oak Street. It is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays. Admission is free of charge.