NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Hundreds of artists, art historians, critics and art educators will converge in Nashville Oct. 25-28 to network, exhibit their creative work, present their scholarship and talk about the future of art.
The joint meeting of the Southeastern College Art Conference and the Mid-America College Art Association will be held at Vanderbilt University, with more than 100 events planned. Most events will be held on the Vanderbilt campus, with some at nearby settings. A full agenda with time and location of events will be posted on the SECAC (www.secollegeart.org) and MACAA (www.macaart.org) websites.
“The entire university is participating in this conference, which has not been held in Nashville for more than 30 years,” said sculptor Michael Aurbach, a professor of art at Vanderbilt and organizer of the conference. “Almost every facet of Vanderbilt is represented in some way.”
Acclaimed critic Eleanor Heartney will deliver a lecture from 4:15 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. Oct. 27 on “Art and Everything: Reframing Art for the 21st Century.” Robert Bagley of Princeton University will speak on “An Underground Palace in Ancient China: The Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng” from 4:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Oct. 26. Christian Moeller of UCLA lectures from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 28 on “A Time and Place.”
Exhibitions will be held at The Parthenon, Vanderbilt’s Sarratt Gallery, the Tennessee Arts Commission Gallery, Belmont University and Zeitgeist Gallery. The Sarratt Gallery exhibit will feature art by Virginia Derryberry, a Vanderbilt art history graduate who now teaches painting at the University of North Carolina, Asheville.
There will be workshops about grants and career development, and panel discussions and presentations on many vital topics. A full preconference agenda is available at http://www.unc.edu/~rfrew/SECAC/forms/Nashville_w_reg.pdf.
Highlights include:
-Free Speech in Art: What are the Limits? with speakers including Carol Becker, dean of faculty at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and featuring Roger Shimomura of the University of Kansas (emeritus), Carol Leake of Loyola University and Don Evans of Vanderbilt (emeritus). 2:15 to 4 p.m. Oct. 26.
-Contemporary Folk, Self-Taught and Outsider Art with discussions of artists Lizzie Wilkerson, Billy Roper and Lonnie Holley. 2:15 to 4 p.m. Oct. 26.
-Art and the Silver Screen with discussions of the work of Charlie Chaplin and films from 1960 to 1970. 8 to 9:45 a.m. Oct. 27.
-Political Art with discussions of the art of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Jose Sabogal, George Bellow and others. 10 to 11:45 a.m. Oct. 27.
-Irreconcilable Differences? Artist-Educators and Religion, with representatives from West Virginia University, University of Southern California and the University of Buffalo. 10 to 11:45 a.m. Oct. 27.
-Madness and Creativity, with perspectives on the art of Ji i Kola, Fred Roxy Paine and other artists. 8 to 9:45 a.m. Oct. 28.
Events are open to members of SECAC and MACAA attending the conference. Members of the general public may purchase day passes for $55, and can contact Michael Aurbach at michael.aurbach@vanderbilt.edu for more information. Media may request credentials by contacting Jim Patterson at 615-322-NEWS or jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu.
Audio from select events from the joint meeting of the Southeastern College Art Conference and the Mid-America College Art Association at Vanderbilt University will be posted on VUCast, the website of Vanderbilt News service, at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/news/.
Media Contact: Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu