[049]MTSU’s TODD GALLERY WELCOMES SECOND BIENNIAL ALUMNI ART EXHIBIT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 15, 2008
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919, or lrollins@mtsu.edu

MTSU’s TODD GALLERY WELCOMES SECOND BIENNIAL ALUMNI ART EXHIBIT
Free Show Features 50-Plus Works; Public Artists’ Reception Set for Sept. 8

(MURFREESBORO)—The art department at MTSU will serve as host for its second biennial exhibition of works by alumni, aptly titled “Alumni 2008,” from Sept. 8 through 26 in the university’s Todd Gallery.
About 50 pieces representing a variety of media will make up the exhibit, which will feature the art of Diane Fox (’86), Glenda Guion (’85), George Juliano (’69), Rebecca Parker (’04), Jim Poag (’77), Tom Sain (’84), Patricia Tenpenny (’92) and Vicki Terry (’92).
“The ‘Alumni 2008’ exhibition is the most recent in an ongoing series of shows designed to recognize Department of Art graduates for their ongoing commitment to art-making and their passion for their discipline,” said Eric Snyder, gallery curator.
“Alumni showing this year represent a range of years, beginning with the 1960s and ending with a more recent graduate of 2004,” he added. “They are active educators in higher education, performance artists or independent artists. Their works are seen across the country, internationally in galleries and museums, found in private collections, and seen in regional and national publications.”
The three-week exhibit will showcase paintings, prints, clay, photography, sculpture and graphic-design imagery, with each artist represented by at least four images in the Todd Gallery.
Additionally, a free public reception for the artists will help kick off the alumni show 6-8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 8, in the gallery’s lobby.
• GALLERY HOURS: Located on the first floor of MTSU’s Todd Building, the Todd Gallery is open 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. weekdays and closed on all state holidays. Admission is always free and exhibits are open to the public.
For more information regarding the current exhibit, please contact Snyder at 615-898-5653 or via e-mail at esnyder@mstu.edu.

About the Department of Art at MTSU

In 1926, Hester Rogers Ray was hired to teach art education courses to elementary education students at Middle Tennessee State Teachers College. However, it was not until 1960 that Howard Hull became the first graduate of the Department of Art, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in art education, with Jere Chumley following in the next year. Both studied with David LeDoux, retired art professor, and the late Fred Reubens, who was chairman of the then-two-person department.
Since then, the department has grown to a faculty of 24, who oversee more than 200 majors in three degree areas: Bachelor of Fine Arts (studio art, including painting, clay, printmaking, graphic design and sculpture), B.S. (art education) and Bachelor of Arts (art history).
Formerly housed in the famously unique Art Barn until 2005, the department is now located in the recently renovated Todd Building, where its faculty and staff continue the work started long ago that has successfully seen hundreds of students and graduates pass through while enriching their art experiences and earning the offered degrees.

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• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To obtain jpg images of some of the artwork that will be part of this show in the Todd Gallery, please contact Lisa L. Rollins via e-mail at lrollins@mtsu.edu.