DANBURY, CONN. — Faculty members of the Western Connecticut State University Department of Art will showcase their creative works in a diverse range of artistic media during an exhibition running from Thursday, Oct. 24, through Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019, in the Gallery at the Visual and Performing Arts Center on the university’s Westside campus, 43 Lake Ave. Extension in Danbury.
An opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 24 will afford an opportunity to meet faculty artists and discuss their works in painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, assemblage and other media. Viewing of the exhibition will be offered during Gallery hours from noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, except during the Thanksgiving week closure from Nov. 27 through Dec. 1.
Admission will be free to the reception and the exhibition, and the public is invited. Reservations to attend the reception should be made online on the VPAC events web page at www.wcsuvpac.eventbrite.com. The exhibition program is sponsored by the WCSU Department of Art with support from patrons of the Gallery; donations to sustain the program will be accepted.
The show marks the second exhibition to be presented by WCSU Department of Art full-time and adjunct faculty members since the VPAC opened in 2014. The department this year became the only art program in the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system and the fifth among all Connecticut institutions to earn accreditation from the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. WCSU currently offers a Bachelor of Arts in Art with concentrations in graphic design, photography, painting and illustration, as well as a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Art. NASAD accreditation affirmed that present WCSU bachelor’s and master’s programs meet the organization’s rigorous national standards, and cleared the way for WCSU faculty to initiate development of a new Bachelor of Fine Arts degree curriculum.
Faculty participants in the exhibtion will include David Boyajian, Riley Brewster, Leslie Cober-Gentry, Bruce Dunbar, Stacey Kolbig, Jurg Lanzrein, Sabrina Marques, Colleen McGuire, Francis Patnaude, Lori Robeau, Ken Scaglia, Elyse Shapiro, David Skora, Clintel Steed, Jack Tom, Catherine Vanaria, Chad Wallace, Erin Walrath and Terry Wells.
“This exhibition is an opportunity for students and the community to learn from the artwork of the faculty who teach in the Department of Art,” Gallery Curator Melissa Ralston-Jones observed. “The talent and breadth of work presented in this exhibition provide a reminder of the creativity and diversity represented within the department.”
Works by several WCSU art faculty members also are being featured Monday through Saturday in a free public exhibition continuing through Oct. 31 at the Silas Bronson Library, 267 Grand St. in Waterbury.
For more information, contact the Department of Art at (203) 837-8403, Ralston-Jones at (203) 837-3982, or the Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486.
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