2019-2020 Exhibition schedule
Aug. 28 to Oct. 13–Prints and Quilts from Gee’s Bend
The UAG is honored to host Prints and Quilts from Gee’s Bend, a selection of quilts, etchings, and sculpture from the Arnett collection. These objects are the product of a very particular place and people—the tiny community of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, and of generations of labor. First the result of necessity, of working with the materials at hand, the quilts created by the women of Gee’s Bend have been recognized for their beauty, as remarkable formal achievements, now exhibited in museums all over the United States. On Sept. 13 at 5 p.m., we will present a panel discussion featuring quilter Louisiana Bendolph, Tennessee Williams Playwright-in-Residence Elyzabeth Wilder, and Associate Professor of Art Jessica Wohl. On Sept. 26, at 7 p.m. in Convocation Hall, student actors will perform a reading of Elyzabeth Wilder’s Gee’s Bend, a play evoking the lived experience of the women quilters of the community.
Oct. 25 to Dec. 13–Allegiance by Diedrick Brackens
The University Art Gallery will host Allegiance, by Los Angeles-based artist Diedrick Brackens, recent winner of the Joyce Alexander Wein Artist Prize from the Studio Museum Harlem. Brackens weaves tapestries of cotton—powerful in his work for its association with the slave trade—that consider the complexities of queer black identity, and the complexities of engaging with a difficult and painful history. Sometimes figurative, sometimes abstract, Brackens’ allusive metaphorical work in Allegiance draws on references to Kente cloth patterns, to bandages, and to flags of all kinds. Brackens will visit campus for a public talk and reception on Nov. 8 at 5 p.m. Location to be announced.
Jan. 17 to April 8–The collaborative project Highlander Libraries
The collaborative project Highlander Libraries, led by artists Greg Pond, Harrell Fletcher, Molly Sherman, and Anna Craycroft, will activate the space of the University Art Gallery. The gallery will be transformed to recall the library of the Highlander Folk School as it existed near Monteagle from 1932 to 1961, and be opened for use by performers, classes, community members, and organizations. The project activates memory of the Highlander as it was, the space invites use and participation, and participants bring the memory to life. On Jan. 24 at 5 p.m. in Convocation Hall there will be a panel discussion and reception celebrating the project, with other events to be announced.
April 17 to May 9–Senior art majors show
To close the 2019–2020 season, from April 17 to May 9, the UAG will celebrate the thesis work of the Class of 2020 graduating senior art majors: Heidi Hayne, Malik Hodge, Henry Ray, Anna Douglas Smith, and Harry Zhou. We will celebrate their work with an opening reception on April 17 at 5 p.m.
