Prism: Spring 2024
The Headlines
Stacey Robinson Collaborates in Multiple Media, Events
Stacey Robinsonwas a featured artist during September and October 2023. During his visit, he participated in multiple exhibitions in collaboration with the Ewing Gallery and the Downtown Gallery, shared his skills as DJ with 90.3 The Rock, and led art events throughout the Knoxville community.
Jered Sprecher Visits Academy of Rome
Professor Jered Sprecher spent June and July 2023 in Italy, as a UT Affiliated Fellow at the American Academy in Rome. He visited historical examples of Roman painting and sculpture that featured decorative motifs drawn from nature and began work on a new series of paintings.
Resident Artists Visit from Wroclaw, Poland
Modesta Gorol and Jan Kozlowski were resident artists during September 2023. They are the latest artists in an exchange program between the School of Art and the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław, Poland. The artists presented an exhibit during their visit.
Faculty Spotlight: Sheldon’s “King Coal” Is a New York Times Critics Pick
The most recent film produced by Elaine McMillion Sheldon has been named a Critics Pick by the New York Times. Sheldon is an assistant professor in the cinema studies concentration at the School of Art. Her film meditates on the complex history of the coal industry in Central Appalachia.
Student Spotlight: Hedley Receives International Sculpture Center’s 2023 Award
MFA student Abigail Hedley of Knoxville, Tennessee, has been awarded the prestigious International Sculpture Center’s Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award for 2023. Judges chose 10 award recipients from over 646 images of sculptural works. The awardees will be featured in the January/February 2024 issue of the ISC’s award-winning publication Sculpture.
Alumna Spotlight: MFA Alumna Walker Receives 2023 Alumni Promise Award
Printmaking alumna Ericka Walker (MFA ’10) received the College of Arts and Sciences 2023 Alumni of Promise Award on September 29, 2023. The award recognizes alumni who have demonstrated distinctive achievement in a career, civic involvement, or both—making a mark early on in their career. Walker is an associate professor at NSCAD University, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Cai Appointed to Assistant Professor
Danqi Cai, a spring 2023 MFA graduate of the UT School of Art MFA program was appointed as Assistant Professor of Foundations at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Brester-Pennings is Artist-in-Residence
Zoe Brester-Pennings, 2023 MFA printmaking graduate, earned the University of Wisconsin-Parkside (UWP) Artist-in-Residence (AIR) position in printmaking. 2023 studio art graduate
Rice Earns Fulbright
Emily Roca Rice is one of 11 UT students and graduates selected for the 2023-2024 Fulbright student awards.