BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Visual Arts Gallery will present the 34th annual Juried Student Annual exhibition Nov. 13-Dec. 5, at the gallery, 900 13th St. South. An opening reception is planned 5-7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13. Admission is free. Call 205-934-0815.
The UAB Juried Student Annual Exhibition features the best works of art created by students in the UAB Department of Art and Art History. The exhibition itself features works across all media made by students enrolled in a studio art class in the preceding year.
This year's juror is Chido Johnson, section chairman of sculpture at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. Johnson will select what he deems to be the best student works for the exhibition. Johnson will give a lecture about his own studio practice at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, in the UAB Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall, 950 13th St. South. The lecture is free and open to the public. Call 205-934-4941.
Born in Nyadiri, Zimbabwe, Chido lived in Zimbabwe until he was 17, and his native language is Shona. He spent most of his youth as the only white child in an African village, and when he moved to Atlanta for college he was then confronted by being visually "American" but culturally African. He earned B.F.A. degrees in sculpture in 1996 and painting with a minor in drawing in 1997 from the University of Georgia. He earned his M.F.A. in sculpture from the University of Notre Dame in 2000. Johnson uses media as diverse as video, cast resin, plastic buckets and carved stone to explore issues of cultural identity and displacement.
About the UAB Visual Arts Gallery
The UAB Visual Arts Gallery showcases both historical and contemporary artworks by local, regional, national and international artists. Its exhibitions highlight works by faculty and students, as well as emerging and established artists, in up to a dozen regularly changing shows which are always free and open to the public.