The annual faculty art exhibit kicked off their opening night on Monday evening with tunes from the faculty jazz combo, a croup created to inspire students.

 The event gave members of VSU’s art faculty an opportunity to show students and members of the community their individualized work.

Many of the full-time staff taking part of this exhibit include: Hollis Barnett, Julie Bowland, Clyde Edwards, Brad Finson, Dominick Gheesling, Craig Hawkins, Jim Hornsby, J. Stephen Lahr, Paula McNeill, Karin Murray, Selena Nawrocki, Al Park, A. Blake Pearce, Michael T. Schmidt and Kalina Winska.

Gallery director and Professor Julie Bowland serves as team leader, and has effectively put the gallery together. According to Bowland, the opening of the exhibit was the beginning of the busy cultural season.

Professor Dominick Gheesling, a third year professor teaching black and white and digital and color photography, will be showcasing his work.

According to Gheesling, the occasion for the staff to share their work with students has been tradition.

“Part of the reason is that we as teachers in any visual media are passing along a tradition which in my case dates back to 1827 and the first photograph,” he said. “What we are passing on is a method of communication much like the tradition of storytelling or communicating oral histories from one generation to another.

The gallery offers a variety of mediums including: ceramics, sculptor, photography, jewelry making, drawing and painting—ideal for any creative preference.

The gallery is located to the left inside the main doors of the Fine Arts Building. Its operating hours are: Monday – Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The exhibit will remain within the Fine Arts building until Sept., 2. For more information about the exhibit or the art department, visit their homepage on VSU’s website.