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Department To Celebrate Art, Community In Inaugural Gala Event
Sept. 30, 2014
SHSU Media Contact: Emily Binetti
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| The inaugural "Celebrating Art and Community" gala proceeds will benefit art students through scholarships, as well as support programs and projects that simultaneously benefit the community. —Submitted photo |
The Sam Houston State University Department of Art will host its inaugural gala, “Celebrating Art and Community,” on Thursday (Oct. 9), at 7 p.m. in the Gaertner Performing Arts Center Lobby, showcasing original art by internationally known artists and sculptors.
The gala will recognize recent student scholarship recipients and also toast the contributions of individuals in the arts by honoring Linda Pease, cultural services director for the City of Huntsville, and alumnus Charles Jones, professor emeritus at Stephen F. Austin State University.
Donations and funds raised by the event will support art student scholarships and travel, as well as educational programs and projects that enhance the culture of Huntsville by bringing art to the community.
This year, the art department opened the SHSU Student Satellite Gallery in downtown Huntsville to provide greater opportunities for students to share their work with the community.
Connecting with the community is a part of the department’s on-going commitment, according to department chair Michael Henderson.
“We are initiating projects with public schools in the surrounding rural areas to help support art programs and developing outreach programs that will partner our students with community organizations,” he said.
Described by a colleague as “a cultural beacon of light in Huntsville,” Pease has served in arts and culture administration in Huntsville for many years, including as staff adviser to the Huntsville Arts Commission, manager of operations of the Wynne Home Arts Center, and coordinating oversight for various cultural projects.
“Organizations and centers that stimulate an active cultural life are important to a well-rounded community, and Linda has played a key role in that area for Huntsville,” Henderson said. “Her efforts in the transformation of the historic Wynne Home into a community cultural arts center for the benefit of the Huntsville residents and visitors has provided ongoing programs focused on bringing families together for creative and enriching experiences.”
Jones has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Sam Houston State University, a Master of Arts degree from New Mexico Highlands University, and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of the Americas, Mexico.
Jones has taught printmaking, drawing and Mexican art history at SFA since1971 and currently serves as head of the printmaking/book arts program.
He is a printmaker, co-founder/director of the LaNana Creek Press, and the Regents’ Professor of Art at the University.
He also has designed books and printed under his Crazy Creek Press imprint, which may be found in major collections in both the United States and Great Britain.
He has had a long career in printmaking, with a major interest in the relief print.
The SHSU Department of Art offers innovative programs for students interested in the visual arts, offering degrees in studio art, photography, graphic design, and computer animation.
The department has more than 30,000 square feet of space devoted to studios, laboratories, lecture halls and galleries, including studios in painting, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, and photography, as well as digital labs that maintain state-of-the-art computer equipment for students in graphics, photography and computer animation.
Tickets are $40 and are available online at shsu.edu/artgala or by calling 936.294.4311.
Sponsorship levels of support are also available.
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