{"id":32396,"date":"2026-02-26T23:21:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T04:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/?p=32396"},"modified":"2026-02-26T23:21:46","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T04:21:46","slug":"32396","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/news\/2026\/32396\/","title":{"rendered":"“Pioneer Perspective: Creating Our Community” showcases the art of Tusculum students, faculty and staff"},"content":{"rendered":"

GREENEVILLE<\/strong> \u2013 Tusculum University<\/a>\u2019s Center for the Arts<\/a> loves to present the work of local and regional artists, but the newest exhibit in the Clem Allison Gallery<\/a> is even closer to home.<\/h3>\n
\"Student

Student Mirissa Walters shows her dot painting in the exhibit.<\/p><\/div>\n

The center is showing \u201cPioneer Perspective: Creating Our Community\u201d through Wednesday, March 25. The art on the walls and on pedestals, conveyed in a variety of media, is the work of Tusculum students, faculty and staff as part of a collective experience. In addition, Allison, who is now retired after leading Tusculum\u2019s art program, contributed one of his paintings to the show.<\/p>\n

Tusculum family members participated in a reception Thursday, Feb. 26.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis exhibit provides an excellent opportunity for us to highlight our students\u2019 work, but it also gives them a chance to see the work of their mentoring faculty,\u201d said Benjamin Conley, assistant professor of art and design<\/a> and the gallery\u2019s director. \u201cIt also gives the wider Tusculum community a chance to say, for example, \u2018Oh, I didn\u2019t know that individual made artwork.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

One example he gave is Betsy Long, academic support coordinator in the Registrar\u2019s Office<\/a>. He did not know she was a photographer until Long asked him whether she could provide some pictures for the exhibit. Conley was happy to agree. She has two nature photos in the show.<\/p>\n

Long said she does not usually submit her photos for exhibition except in a few instances, but she felt this would be a good time to offer her work. She primarily likes to photograph nature and animals.<\/p>\n

\"Kyler

Kyler Hayes shows the race car he created.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Staff

Staff member Betsy Long stands by her photographs, which are included in the show.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI just like to capture beauty and creation,\u201d Long said. \u201cI like trying to show the animals in what they\u2019re doing, just living life with us and having fun, or just the beauty of nature because it captures my eye. It\u2019s peaceful to me to stop and take it all in, and then I want to try to capture it. I want to make people smile and take pictures of the beauty of God\u2019s creation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students were interested in holding an exhibition of their work, and Conley asked them about the idea of including faculty and staff as well. They welcomed the idea, and several Tusculum employees offered their art. Conley tasked the students with developing the name for the exhibit, and he was thrilled with the title they presented him.<\/p>\n

The vast majority of the work in the exhibit belongs to students. One of them is junior Mirissa Walters. who is majoring in studio art.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been creating art for a really long time, and when we had the chance to put some in this exhibit, I wanted to show off the different styles that I can do,\u201d she said. \u201cI have an acrylic piece, an oil piece and my dot piece in there as well. I wanted to get people\u2019s perspective because I\u2019ve kind of shifted between styles over the years, and I come back to the same ones over and over again. It seems like different people like different ones, and I like getting the reactions to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walters especially enjoys her dot paintings, saying they serve as a form of stress relief.<\/p>\n

\"Student

Student Sienna Laffitte stands with jewelry she developed.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Benjamin

Benjamin Conley, assistant professor of art and design, presents a piece of his art that appears in the exhibit.<\/p><\/div>\n

An exhibition statement created for \u201cPioneer Perspective: Creating Our Community\u201d provides a fuller description of what the show achieves.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach work in this exhibition reflects a personal perspective shaped by connections that define our campus,\u201d the statement says. \u201c\u2019Pioneer Perspective\u2019 honors both our university heritage and our forward-thinking spirit. To pioneer is to explore and to build something meaningful where it otherwise would not have existed. The artists in \u2018Pioneer Perspective\u2019 respond by contributing to a shared cultural landscape, hopefully deepening Tusculum\u2019s already established artistic influence.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn celebrating these creative contributions, we state that art is not separate from our academic mission. It is inherent. Artistic exploration is interwoven within our day to day at Tusculum University.\u201d<\/p>\n

The exhibit is free and open for viewing weekdays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.<\/p>\n

Additional information about Tusculum\u2019s art and design program is available at https:\/\/site.tusculum.edu\/art-and-design\/<\/a>. To learn more about the university, please visit www.tusculum.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GREENEVILLE<\/strong> \u2013 Tusculum University<\/a>\u2019s Center for the Arts<\/a> loves to present the work of local and regional artists, but the newest exhibit in the Clem Allison Gallery<\/a> is even closer to home.<\/h3>\n

The center is showing \u201cPioneer Perspective: Creating Our Community\u201d through Wednesday, March 25. The art on the walls and on pedestals, conveyed in a variety of media, is the work of Tusculum students, faculty and staff as part of a collective experience. In addition, Allison, who is now retired after leading Tusculum\u2019s art program, contributed one of his paintings to the show.<\/p>\n

Tusculum family members participated in a reception Thursday, Feb. 26.<\/p>\n

Read the full article…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[131,91,7,158,19,142,169,146,1,6,148,147,149,172],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n"Pioneer Perspective: Creating Our Community" showcases the art of Tusculum students, faculty and staff :: Tusculum University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/news\/2026\/32396\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""Pioneer Perspective: Creating Our Community" showcases the art of Tusculum students, faculty and staff :: Tusculum University\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"GREENEVILLE \u2013 Tusculum University\u2019s Center for the Arts loves to present the work of local and regional artists, but the newest exhibit in the Clem Allison Gallery is even closer to home. The center is showing \u201cPioneer Perspective: Creating Our Community\u201d through Wednesday, March 25. The art on the walls and on pedestals, conveyed in a variety of media, is the work of Tusculum students, faculty and staff as part of a collective experience. In addition, Allison, who is now retired after leading Tusculum\u2019s art program, contributed one of his paintings to the show. Tusculum family members participated in a reception Thursday, Feb. 26. 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