Artist and educator Larry Walker will offer a presentation on his six decades of artwork and experiences in the art world as part of the Paul R. Jones Lecture Series, Tuesday, February 26, 2019, in the AIME Building on UA campus. Walker's art has been featured in over 200 exhibitions, including a two-part retrospective – Larry Walker: The Early Years and Larry Walker:The Later Years – at Atlanta's Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia in 2018. He also possesses decades of experience as an art educator in the Detroit school system, the University of the Pacific, and Georgia State University. This event is sponsored by the College of Arts & Sciences.
Paul R. Jones Museum ‘Inspires’ Schoolchildren
The Paul R. Jones Museum presents Inspired, a collaboration between Woodland Forrest Elementary School and the Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art, open now through February 22, 2019. An opening reception is February 1st from 5:30-7:30 p.m. There will be a music performance at 6:30 p.m. The Paul R. Jones Museum is located at 2308 Sixth Street, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 Hours are Monday–Friday 9 a.m.–5 p.m. and First Friday of the month Noon until 8 p.m. For more information about all their programs and exhibitions, call 205-345-3038 or go to their website: https://paulrjones.museums.ua.edu/hours-location-admission/. A Facebook event is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/406982419843026/. Image credit: Ming Smith, Step One: David and Mingus, 1989, gelatin silver print, courtesy the Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art at The University of Alabama, PJ2008.0264.
180 Art Teachers Converge on UA for Annual Meeting
In November, more than 180 art teachers from across the state converged on the UA Department of Art and Art History for a one-day dawn to dusk conference to exchange ideas about teaching art to Alabama's K-12 students. Members of the Alabama Art Education Association held their annual conference Friday, Nov. 2, 2018, at the UA Department of Art and Art History. Professionals in art education shared their experience and expertise with new ideas, best practices and approaches in 28 workshops, talks, demonstrations and panel discussions, as well as some fun activities. The entire production was organized and coordinated by AAEA volunteers and our office assistant Holly Brewer. Some of the presenters included our own faculty and staff: Emily Bibb, Jonathan Cumberland, Dr. Lucy Curzon, Allison Grant, Sarah Marshall and Nic Tisdale. Craig Wedderspoon held an aluminum pour for the teachers assisted by UA Art Foundry staff Joe McCreary, Mike Eddins, Patrick O'Sullivan and Eric Nubbe. Photos of the 2018 Alabama Art Education Association Conference: Welcome reception and registration for AAEA 2018 attendees in the Sarah Moody Gallery of Art. "Photographs and Visual Literacy" presented by Assistant Professor Allison Grant, photography, at AAEA 2018. "Presenting the Paul R. Jones Collection" with Collections Manager Emily Bibb and Dr. Lucy Curzon, associate professor of art history and Director of Education and Outreach, Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art at The University of Alabama, at AAEA 2018. "What You Can Do with Graphic Design" with Assistant Professor Jonathan Cumberland, at AAEA 2018. "Art History in the Studio Classroom" with Dr. Lucy Curzon at AAEA 2018. "Printmaking Presentation" with Associate Professor Sarah Marshall at AAEA 2018. For more information about the UA Department of Art and Art History and our programs, go here: https://art.ua.edu/about/
Sheila Pree Bright: A Community Conversation about Social Engagement through Art
Sheila Pree Bright: A Community Conversation about Social Engagement through Art Date: Wednesday, September 05, 2018 Time: 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Location: Warner Presentation Room, Wynn Fine Arts Center, Stillman College Cost: Free and open to the public Join Sheila Pree Bright in a community engagement conversation about art! The questions: Can art be a form of activism to create awareness and bring shared communities together to critically look at ongoing social and political struggles? Is it the artist’s responsibility to create social change through art? How can socially engaged art reshape the approach to under-resourced communities to help overcome barriers to participation and create equitable access? What role can young people play in furthering these conversations? Bright will share the short film Election Day: Lens Across America and examples from her recent photographic series Young Americans, 1960 Who, and #1960Now as a point of entry to this community conversation. Sheila Pree Bright's event is part of the Paul R. Jones Lecture Series, sponsored by UA College of Arts & Sciences.
Black Panther at the Paul R. Jones Museum
Inspired by the aesthetics of the blockbuster Black Panther, the Paul R. Jones Museum takes a look at the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and ‘70s and its inspirations in the art of Africa. Opening July 6 First Friday, BAM! Black Panther and the Black Arts Movement in the Paul R. Jones Collection features work from Africa, as well as by important American artists David Driskell, Romare Bearden and Emma Amos. The exhibition runs through August 24. Image credit: Charles Lee, Untitled, acrylic on board, Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art, PJ2012.0044 The Paul R. Jones Museum is located at 2308 6th St. in downtown Tuscaloosa. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the first Friday of every month from noon to 8 p.m. The Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art is part of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team. For more information about The University of Alabama’s programs in studio art and art history, go here: https://art.ua.edu/academics/graduate-programs/art-requirements/.
Student-curated Exhibition Showcases Artists of Color
University of Alabama students under the direction of Assistant Professor Wendy Castenell have curated an exhibition for the Paul R. Jones Museum titled Color by Color, opening May 4 with a First Friday reception in the downtown museum from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. The exhibition runs through June 29. In the exhibition text greeting visitors to the Jones Museum, the curators ask, “How many black artists can you name? How many did you study?” The aim of this new exhibit, curated by students in Dr. Castenell’s African American Art (ARH 388), is to showcase the talent of artists whose skin color was the reason they could not show their artwork. The project also gave the students a chance to learn more about these artists collected by the late Paul R. Jones. In addition, Color by Color focuses on the subject matter of artists of different cultures. According to the curators, “Color becomes a reflection of love, life and the generation of a people who’ve overcome a life of discrimination and prejudice to embrace their cultures through their art. With this theme, we see different interpretations of daily life, culture, emotions and a history of African Americans not seen before.” The students conclude, “While we are not able to change past prejudices that prevented black artists from exhibiting their work, we can now move forward to deliberately showcase their incredible skills and understand their experiences. We hope that by visiting this exhibition you will have learned a bit more about these underappreciated artists and fully experience Color by Color.” Josh Allen, Robby Bradford, Hannah Christopher, Elizabeth Essary, Megan Foster, Katie Freeman, Melissa Givens, Clay Hodge, Rachel Irvin, Jasmine James, Kailey Ketter, Alexandra Laroche, Sarah Lipshy, Lydia Mccollum, Marie Owens, Chelsea Parrish, Victoria Sadler, Rebecca Skipper, Hannah Weeks and Alex Willis are the participating student-curators. For more information about The University of Alabama’s programs in studio art and art history, go here: https://art.ua.edu/academics/graduate-programs/art-requirements/. The Paul R. Jones Museum is located at 2308 6th St. in downtown Tuscaloosa. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the first Friday of every month from noon to 8 p.m. The Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art is part of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team.
Printmaking Students Create “Eclectic” Art Exhibit at the Paul Jones Museum
The public is invited to a First Friday reception honoring intermediate printmaking students and their exhibition at the Paul R. Jones Museum, 2308 Sixth Street, Tuscaloosa on Friday, November 3 from 5:30-7:30 pm. "Eclectic Way" is the culmination of a semester-long research project by intermediate printmaking students working under Associate Professor Sarah Marshall. After visiting the Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art at The University of Alabama and exploring its holdings, each student picked a specific work in the collection for further investigation. Students prepared an interpretation of their chosen work by studying the biography of the artist, and major themes important to that artist's work and by learning more about the techniques used to create the work. Students completed the project by creating an artwork of their own in response to the work of their chosen artist. The students' prints will be shown alongside the work that inspired them, inviting dialogue. Marshall hopes the project will give the students insight into the "eclectic ways" that other artists work. "This opportunity to work directly with a major collection challenges young artists to develop content and technique in their own work," Marshall said. For more information about The University of Alabama’s programs in studio art and art history, go here: https://art.ua.edu/academics/graduate-programs/art-requirements/.
Artist Lecture: George Hunt
Memphis-based artist George Hunt will offer a lecture on his prolific career on Tuesday, March 28 at 7 p.m. in Gorgas Library 205. Hunt is one of the artists featured in the Paul R. Jones Gallery’s current exhibition, Freedom?, through April 28. For more information contact Stacy Morgan, smorgan@ua.edu, (205) 534-3882. UA Event calendar page: https://www.ua.edu/events/event/38008. Press release about the exhibition here: https://www.ua.edu/news/2017/01/guest-curator-ua-faculty-open-freedom-at-paul-r-jones-gallery/ There is also a facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/402743140103256/
Dani Sagirs: “Curating” Summer Jobs
Danielle “Dani” Sagirs has been working three jobs this summer, but she set aside some time last month to tell us about her experiences. The rising senior studio art major, with an art history minor, has been a gallery assistant for the Paul R. Jones Gallery and the University of Alabama Gallery at the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center in downtown Tuscaloosa for the last six months. She also worked as a bindery assistant and delivery driver at UA Printing Services. And, she worked a few nights a week as shift leader at McAlister’s Deli. Of the three jobs, Sagirs said she enjoys the gallery assistant job the most. Working in that world has only heightened her desire to continue working in the art world after she graduates. The Jones Gallery recently hired a new director, Karen Kennedy. Because Sagirs was familiar with the daily running of the gallery, she was able to help Kennedy learn the ropes and make a smooth transition. Sagirs also assists PRJ Collections Manager Emily Bibb with the exhibitions. “On a regular basis, I assist with the packaging and installation of exhibits, completing condition reports, checking inventory for the Lofts (accommodations for visitors of the College of Arts and Sciences).” She acts as gallery guide with information about the exhibitions and the artists whose work is on the walls. UA Printing Services has been her longest job, having been there more than 3 years. She delivers finished jobs and proofs around campus, works in the bindery department where she assists in the production processes for pamphlets, books and similar items. Beyond this summer, Sagirs has a very practical outlook for her immediate future. After she graduates in May 2017, she said she wants a steady job -- period. “My decision to do this is merely to stay ahead of the game in a society that doesn’t guarantee a job.” But she does plan on going to graduate school, possibly in Library and Information Studies or Museum Studies. And, beyond the next few years, Sagirs wants to stay in the art world. “I have a lot of experience in customer service and I enjoy working with people. I would be happy doing anything revolving around art, whether it was taking photos, promoting other artists or curating. My work at the galleries has intensified these feelings quite a bit.” Our series "What We Did on Our Summer Vacations!" gives a glimpse into the lives of University of Alabama artists and art historians - both student and professional - when they aren't attending fall and spring classes.