WKU News

On February 26, WKU’s Ivan Wilson Fine Arts Center Gallery will open for the month featuring an exhibit inspired by youth. Earlier in the month WKU Potter College of Arts & Letters (PCAL) and Ogden College of Science and Engineering (OCSE) hosted a STEAM Day (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) for Jonesville Academy, which included them making two pieces for display in the gallery.

During their STEAM Day experience, the scholars participated in two workshops where the processes they experimented with resulted in creative products. The scholars learned cyanotype, a printmaking process related to photography, and each made a self-portrait print. They also learned basic handbuilding techniques in clay and made ceramic vessels. 

“What we asked the scholars to do during STEAM Day was hard - making a self-portrait and experimenting with new materials and processes are some of the hardest things we do as artists. We wanted to provide this gallery space for the scholars to showcase their accomplishments and to celebrate them,” explained Department Head Kristina Arnold of WKU’s Department of Art & Design.

The Jonesville Academy STEAM Day gallery exhibit opening takes place on February 26 at 1:00pm with a short program for Jonesville Academy families, school officials, and special guests. Remarks will come from PCAL Dean Terrance Brown and OCSE Dean David Brown.  The exhibit is open to the public Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm until March 27.

“There is something transformative and almost magical about putting an artwork on a wall or a pedestal in a gallery. Highlighting pieces like this gives the work an authority,” Arnold said. “It also provides a space for a community to come together and celebrate the work.”

The Jonesville Academy is a program for Boys to Men Leadership Group and For a Real Change, Inc. that meets every other Saturday at WKU. This program is coordinated with partnerships with WKU, Bowling Green Independent School District, and Warren County Public Schools. Scholars study reading and writing, S.T.E.M., and history, language, and culture.

For more information about this event, contact Kristina Arnold at kristina.arnold@wku.edu.