The UA Department of Art & Art History celebrated awards, collaborations, and community in 2025-2026. Here are the highlights from a busy year! Study Abroad The Department of Art & Art History just celebrated the largest study abroad program in department history! In May, 28 students and three faculty members embarked on a two-week journey through Italy. During stops in Rome, Siena, Florence, and Venice, students toured sites like San Luigi dei Francesi (pictured), the Colosseum, and Piazza del Campo, and San […]
Category: Ceramics
Ceramist Gabrielle Grabowski Presents MFA Thesis Show in SGAG
She is What you Made Her, the MFA thesis exhibition of Gabrielle Grabowski, opens April 3 in the Sella-Granata Art Gallery. A reception will be held Thursday, April 9, from 4-6 p.m. Gabrielle Grabowski is a third-year ceramics student and GTA in UA’s Department of Art & Art History. Her recent work has appeared in shows in Chicago Heights, IL, Ocala, FL, and Tuscaloosa, AL. In 2025, Grabowski completed artist residencies at both the Peters Valley School of Craft (Sandyston, NJ) and Kinhouse […]
Read More from Ceramist Gabrielle Grabowski Presents MFA Thesis Show in SGAG
Art Roundup: March 2026
The UA Department of Art & Art History is pleased to share a variety of exhibition openings around West Alabama. This month, the work of UA students, alums, and other talented artists will be on display in on- and off-campus spaces. We hope to see you out on the town! Have an event you’d like to share? Email Communications Specialist Ben Reynolds at bjreynolds3@ua.edu. Tuft Luck WHERE: Sella-Granata Art Gallery WHEN: February 27 – March 6 The Sella-Granata Art Gallery is pleased […]
Renowned Ceramist Donté Hayes Featured in New SMGA Show
See a sample of Hayes’ work on his website or below: The Sarah Moody Gallery of Art is supported by the Barefield College of Arts and Sciences and the department of art and art history and is an essential part of the education and development of UA students and our community. Admission to the gallery is free. Hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. when school is in session. The gallery is at 103 Garland Hall in the heart of UA campus in […]
Read More from Renowned Ceramist Donté Hayes Featured in New SMGA Show
Wade MacDonald Featured in Ceramics Monthly
An article centering the ceramic practice of Assistant Professor Wade MacDonald appeared in the October 2025 edition of Ceramics Monthly. The article, written by MacDonald’s friend and colleague Susan McHenry, traces his work’s influences, conventions, and relationship to both “contemporary and theoretical architecture.” In “Wade MacDonald: Inside the Vessel,” McHenry tracks how MacDonald’s formative exposures to architecture– in museums, graduate studios, and public libraries– have impacted his craft’s “spatial, functional, and conceptual dimensions.” MacDonald’s “surrealist” pieces, she argues, reckon with […]
Franklin Jeffers MA Thesis Exhibition Opens at Galley VOX
The UA Department of Art and Art History presents the Master of Arts thesis exhibition of Franklin Jeffers, titled Something Must Break, from March 6 – April 6, 2025, at Gallery Vox in Birmingham, Alabama. A reception for the artist will be held at Gallery Vox (1623 Pinson St, Birmingham, Alabama 35217) on Thursday, March 6, from 6:00-9:00 p.m. Franklin Jeffers is a McNair Scholar, graduate teaching assistant, and interdisciplinary artist pursuing an MA in ceramics at The University of Alabama. He graduated […]
Read More from Franklin Jeffers MA Thesis Exhibition Opens at Galley VOX
UA Hosts 2025 Alabama Clay Conference
The UA Department of Art and Art History is proud to host the 2025 Alabama Clay Conference from January 30 – February 2, 2025. The 2025 Alabama Clay Conference, an initiative of the Alabama Visual Arts Network (ALVAN), will be held in the UA Student Center from January 30 – February 2, 2025. Hundreds of artists from across the region, including many upper-level UA ceramic students, will attend this 40th annual conference. Find the full conference schedule here. According to […]
Wade MacDonald Awarded First Prize in International Sculpture Exhibition
Assistant Professor of Ceramics Wade F. MacDonald recently earned First Prize in FORM + SPACE 2024, an international juried exhibition presented by the Museum of Art – DeLand. The exhibition, curated by museum staff and guest juror Eliza Au, showcased an “expansive field of contemporary sculpture” from October 26 – December 29, 2024. MacDonald’s recognition entitles him to both a cash prize and a solo exhibition at the museum in 2026. MacDonald began work on the winning sculpture, titled An […]
Read More from Wade MacDonald Awarded First Prize in International Sculpture Exhibition
Call for Papers: 30th Annual Graduate Student Symposium in Art History
The University of Alabama and The University of Alabama at Birmingham Joint MA Program in Art History is pleased to announce its 30th annual Graduate Student Symposium in Art History. The symposium, held this year in Tuscaloosa, seeks graduate and undergraduate presenters for the one-day, in-person event on Friday, March 28, 2025. The submission deadline is Friday, December 13, 2024. MA students in art history or related fields are invited to submit presentation proposals for consideration. Graduate applicants should send a single PDF, containing a 250-word abstract and one-page […]
Read More from Call for Papers: 30th Annual Graduate Student Symposium in Art History