Today@Sam Article
Annual Art Walk Returns To Campus and Community
Feb. 23, 2018
SHSU Media Contact: Emily Binetti
Langston Hughes once said, "Perhaps the mission of an artist is to interpret beauty to people - the beauty within themselves."
The Sam Houston State University Department of Art and the Student Art Association will bring beauty to the surrounding community with the annual the Huntsville Art Walk on Saturday, March 3, from noon to 5 p.m across various locations in Huntsville and on the SHSU main campus.
Galleries and exhibition spaces throughout the city will be open to the public free of charge. The Art Walk will include exhibitions on the SHSU campus and locations around Downtown Huntsville. The Wynne Home Art Center will be open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. All other venues are open from noon to 5 p.m. with a reception at the Satellite Gallery from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. All are free and open to the public.
“The ArtWalk was started several years ago by members of the SHSU Student Art Association when they took over storefront windows and alleys in the downtown square area to display their art work,” Department of Art Chair Michael Henderson said. “This year, the Department of Art has invited several individuals and art organizations in the community to join in the Art Walk to bring attention to and celebrate the rich and diverse artwork and exhibition spaces that exist within Huntsville.”
Several new venues have been added to the expanded Art Walk. The Wynne Home will have an exhibit of work by local artists Georgia Allen, Larra Bea Elliots, Dennis Hickman, Semone Robinson, and Tommy Rogers. The exhibit entitled “Visionary – Indigenous, Low-Brow – Outsider, Childlike – No Collar – Folk, Neo/Primitive – Self Taught,” was organized by John Smither.
Smither will also display his own personal art gallery, known as the Crazywood Gallery.
| A portion of the Crazywood Gallery |
The collections of George Russell will be on public display at several locations including the house Russell calls The Bishop’s Palace. The museum contains artwork from local artists and from around the world. Russell’s other museums display his collections in restored 19th century houses and warehouse.
The David Adickes foundation is on the north side of the square in the old Huntsville High School at 710 University Avenue. This building will be open with an exhibition of paintings by Adickes who is known for his monumental sculpture of Sam Houston on Interstate 45.
Two venues will be open on the campus of SHSU. The Gaddis Geeslin Gallery will exhibit works by professors who teach in the Department of Art.
The Sam Houston State Natural History Collection will also be open to the public. The research collections will display preserved insects, birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibians, fossils, and minerals, as well as rare books and paintings of Big Thicket wildflowers by Geraldine Watson and East Texas scenes by biologist and artist Dan Lay.
The SHSU Student Art Association will exhibit works by members at the SHSU Satellite Gallery. The exhibition will include works by students in a variety of media.
The Downtown Square will be a featured destination on the Art Walk this year with a focus on the murals of Richard Haas. Huntsville has a large collection of Haas murals on several buildings surrounding the square and including the Walker County Courthouse. The murals are deteriorating and in need of restoration and the Art Walk is intended to draw attention to these local treasures that enhance the appearance of the square. Maps for a walking tour of the murals will be available at the Satellite Gallery.
Locations for featured galleries are as follows:
- The Museum of Genocide and Atrocities Perpetrated Against Native Americans, the Museum of Texas Art and Gallery of Erotic Art, and the Museum of Texas Furniture and Kitsch Collection/Museum of Texas Stoneware are located south of the downtown square on University Avenue between 14th St. and 15th St.
- The 58thAnnual Faculty Exhibition includes ceramics, painting, photography, and sculpture as well as video art and animation. The Gaddis Geeslin Gallery is located at 1028 21st St.
- The Satellite Gallery is located near the downtown square at 1216 University Avenue.
- Crazywood Gallery, 1416 Sam Houston Avenue.
- Bishop’s Palace, 1409 19th St.
- David Adickes Foundation, 710 University Avenue.
- Wynne Home Arts Center, 1429 11th St.
For more information on the Art Walk, contact the Department of Art at 936.294.1315.
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