The Valdosta State University Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery will kick off its 2017-2018 season with Art and Design Faculty Exhibition 2017.
 
An opening reception will be held from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 21. Art and Design Faculty Exhibition 2017 will run through Friday, Sept. 8.
 
“This very popular annual event is where our Department of Art and Design faculty members show that they don’t just ‘talk the talk’ but also ‘walk the walk,’ as all studio instructors are also practicing artists and designers,” said Julie A. Bowland, professor, noted landscape painter, and Fine Arts Gallery director.
 
All full- and part-time Department of Art and Design faculty members were invited to participate in Art and Design Faculty Exhibition 2017, 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 sculptures, graphic design, interior design, and more. Participating faculty exhibitors are Hollis Barnett, Julie Bowland, Tommy Crane, Evelyn Davis-Walker, Clyde Edwards, Mark Errol, J. Dominick Gheesling, Craig Hawkins, Abigail Heuss, Jim Hornsby, Karin Murray, Dr. Selena Nawrocki, Ray Noll, Kyoung-Im Park, A. Blake Pearce, Richard Peterman, Michael Schmidt, Kalina Winska, as well as Dr. Sarah Libba Willcox, a new faculty member teaching art and art education, and Sean Hurley, a new faculty member teaching printmaking and foundations.
 
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 Department of Art and Design faculty,” shared Bowland.
 
The Department of Art and Design will also celebrate the naming of the Martha G. Smart Gallery, formerly known as the Student Gallery, and the Martha G. Smart Scholarship.
 
Located down the hall from the Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery, the Martha G. Smart Gallery currently features ceramics works by two student artists, Sara Pratt and Sarah Moore. The Martha G. Smart Scholarship is designed to support a student artist working in three-dimensional arts, such as ceramics or sculpture.
 
Martha G. Smart was graduated from Georgia State Woman’s College in 1949 and Valdosta State College in 1973. She was an accomplished potter. She taught biology and science at Valdosta High School. Her family established a living memorial in her name to assist outstanding students through the gift of scholarship to support creative engagement and academic success. John L. Smart, her son, asked that a scholarship fund be established for educational purposes, in particular for students that exhibit an extraordinary talent in the three-dimensional arts.
 
VSU’s Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery and Martha G. Smart Gallery are located on the first floor of the Fine Arts Building, at the intersection of Brookwood Drive and Oak Street. They are open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays. Admission is free of charge.
 
Contact Julie Bowland at (229) 333-5835 or [email protected] to learn more or to schedule a guided tour of the exhibition.