GREENEVILLE – Strengthening its connections with the local art community, Tusculum University recently spotlighted the work of Greene County residents with a show in Annie Hogan Byrd Fine Arts Center.
Laura “Totsy” Samples points toward her painting of a wolf, called “Spirit Dreams.”
Lori Ann Sparks looks at a photograph from the “Newsies” musical taken by Kristin Girton.
Larry Bunton looks at his painting of Charles Lindbergh.
The Center for the Arts held an open call for local artists to submit their work and then hosted a reception Wednesday, Dec. 4, on the main floor of Annie Hogan Byrd. These community members, who had produced a wide range of media, attended to celebrate and show off their pieces as they mingled with other art enthusiasts and professionals.
“The idea came from our desire to grow our relationships with local artists in Greene County,” said Benjamin Conley, assistant professor of art and design at the university. “We wanted to give them the opportunity to showcase their work in a public place. That connection with the artists has now been made and will be able to expand as we move forward in further developing our art program.”
The open call was available to any Greene County resident, and each artist was permitted to submit two items. About 15 artists submitted their work for consideration, and Conley and his students picked 11 to feature in the show. Some of the artists whose work was placed on the walls in Annie Hogan Byrd saw both of their works displayed, while others just had one.
The only parameters for artists were to submit items that were no larger than 24 by 36 inches. The pieces also had to be two-dimensional. Subject matter and media format were completely the discretion of the artists.
Conley has noticed appreciation for visual art has room to become more prevalent in the area. Holding professional displays and receptions demonstrates that visual art is important and crucial to the region culturally, academically and visually, he said. Conley said people will find the Tusculum’s Center for the Arts to be one of the places that appreciates local artwork.
These are artists, their family members and representatives of the Tusculum University Center for the Arts who attended the reception.
Eric Kaltenmark stands by two of his photographs. The one on the left is called “Echoes of Sacrifice,” taken during the 2024 Tri-Cities 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb at Bristol Motor Speedway. The one of the right is called “Heroes’ Hands” Strength in Unity,” taken during a 2017 Mass Transit Rescue class at the Andersonville Volunteer Fire Department.
The other benefit is that local residents will discover they do not have to head to big cities only to see impressive artwork close to home, he said.
Conley expected the show to be heavily landscape-oriented because many artists are drawn to the mountains and waterways. Instead, he received a more diverse range of entries. For example, he received paintings of a crushed Monster energy drink can, a wolf, a pilot and an old-school actor and photos of theater performances. He was pleased to have the wide range of depictions in the art.
“The artists were so excited to see their work hung up,” Conley said. “They were taking pictures next to it. The sentiment that I gathered was how thankful everyone was for the opportunity.”
This year, the works were placed in the main hallway at Annie Hogan Byrd, but next year, they will be displayed in the Clem Allison Art Gallery on the same floor.
“This was a wonderful initiative, and Benjamin deserves credit for coming up with the idea and bringing it to fruition,” said Rouja Green, director of the Center for the Arts. “We value our connections with the community and are delighted we were able to have this open call and then display the work at the Center for the Arts. We are thrilled to continue building our relationships and having the Center for the Arts be a vital place to celebrate the value of art in the community’s quality of life.”
Additional information about the Center for the Arts is available at https://site.tusculum.edu/center-for-the-arts/. To learn more about the university, please visit www.tusculum.edu.