Written by Ashley Jones, Arts & Entertainment Editor 

On Feb. 24 Dedo Marnville Fine Arts Gallery hosted an opening reception for their current exhibit titled “You Think You Know Me,” tailored specifically to showcase VSU faculty outside of the roles the VSU community is familiar with.  

In the introduction for the opening of the reception, Mark Errol, the director of the gallery stated “Many of you know us by the areas we teach, but we are not just those things.  

“What we wanted to do was highlight the other parts of our making, because our students have to see that we are, in fact, makers of all kinds,” he said.  

“Sometimes it’s sowing, sometimes it’s photography for the first time. Sometimes it’s doing things that are just not normal as far as what we teach, and that’s really exciting for us to share with you guys.” 

The art displayed ranged from paintings, photography, fashion, interior decorating, AI art, drawings, sculptures, and many more.  

During the reception, guests were provided with refreshments and snacks to enjoy while viewing the art.  

Visitors were able to view the artists’ statements, a document that describes the artists’ pieces and their influences, through QR codes stationed in multiple places between the art pieces. 

As its intended purpose, the exhibit gave viewers a glimpse into VSU faculty members artistic life outside of the college classroom and campus. 

James Reiman, currently an Assistant Professor of Photography and Graphic Design here at VSU, stated in his artist’s statement, “[t]he works presented in this exhibition were all created within the last year, marking a period of deeper exploration into new technologies and reflection on who I am as both educator and image-maker,” he said.  

 “It is my hope that this same spirit of curiosity empowers my students to experiment boldly and forge their own narratives as artists and designers.”  

While Abigail Heuss, current Interim Head of the Department of Art & Design and Professor of Art Jewelry and Metalsmithing, wrote in her artist’s statement, “I sew to make clothing that fits my plus-sized body in a way that makes me feel powerful, where store-bought fast fashion so often makes fat people and people feel like afterthoughts,” she said.  

“But I also do it to pay respect to the craftspeople in my line- my mother who sewed our school clothes, my grandmother who at 7 baked bread for her siblings so her siblings would have food while her parents worked, my great grandmother who raised chickens and grew her garden during the depression to feed her hungry family.” 

As the reception continued, an influx of VSU community members flooded into the gallery to support the artists. 

This exhibit has instilled hope into current VSU students by showing that artists development is a forever evolving quality even our professors are still in the process of developing. We hope to see many more exhibits such as this one from Dedo Marnville Fine Arts Gallery.