CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Earlier this week, the Austin Peay State University Department of Art + Design announced its 2018-19 season of exhibitions and visiting speakers, featuring notables such as Amy Sherald, commissioned painter of the official Michelle Obama portrait. Generously supported by the APSU Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts (CECA), the Department of Art + Design is able to bring nationally and internationally recognized artists and thinkers directly to Clarksville with programming that is free and open to the public.

“Our programming has become the envy of our peer institutions within Tennessee and those within our surrounding region,” Michael Dickins, APSU gallery director and visiting artist program chair, said. “Last year, we had institutions from within our state, as well as from South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Kentucky, bring their students to our events. This is a huge testament to our programming and the support from the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts.”

The New Gallery exhibition season, featuring contemporary artists from Tennessee, Oregon, New Mexico and Puerto Rico, includes:
• McLean Fahnestock: Undiscovered Country. Aug. 27-Sept. 21. Artist lecture: Sept. 18, 6 p.m., Heydel Hall. Reception: Sept. 19, noon-1 p.m., with a gallery talk by the artist at 12:30 p.m.
• Wendy Red Star: Apsáalooke Feminist, White Squaw, Four Seasons. Oct. 1-26. Reception: Oct. 4, noon-1 p.m., with a gallery talk by the artist at 12:30 p.m. Artist lecture: Oct. 4, 6 p.m., Heydel Hall.
• Valery Jung Estabrook: Three American Bodies. Nov. 5-Dec. 6. Artist lecture: Nov. 5, 6 p.m., Heydel Hall. Reception: Nov. 6, noon-1 p.m., with a gallery talk by the artist at 12:30 p.m.
• Patrick Vincent: New Works. Jan. 14-Feb. 8, 2019. Artist lecture: Feb. 5, 6 p.m., Heydel Hall. Reception: Feb. 6, noon-1 p.m., with a gallery talk by the artist at 12:30 p.m.
• Gamaliel Rodriguez: Mermorias Manipuladas. Feb. 19-March 23, 2019. Reception: March 13, noon-1 p.m., with a gallery talk by the artist at 12:30 p.m. Artist lecture: March 13, 6 p.m., Heydel Hall.
• 51st Annual Student Juried Exhibition. April 2-25, 2019. Reception: April 24, 5-7 p.m. Awards ceremony, 5:30 p.m.

The 2018-19 CECA Visiting Artists Speaker Series features artists from New York, Maryland, North Carolina, and Washington D.C. The lectures will be hosted in Heydel Hall in the Art + Design building, unless otherwise noted.

• Sept. 27: Amy Sherald, painter, winner of Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, and commissioned painter of the official Michelle Obama portrait, 7:30 p.m. in the Morgan University Center Ballroom.
• Oct. 23: Kaye Vassey, former animator at Dreamworks, current lead technical animator on Fortnite, at Epic Games and creator of comic strips Legend of Bill and Gnome Syndicate. 6 p.m.
• Nov. 14: Sharon Louden, installation artist, educator, artist advocate and editor of the Living and Sustaining a Creative Life series of books, 6 p.m.
• Jan. 28, 2019: Leonardo Drew, sculptor, installation artists and featured artist in PBS’ Art21 series, 6 p.m.
• Jan. 30, 2019: Tim Doud / Zoë Charlton, co-founders of | ‘sindikit |, a space for facilitating creative engagements. Doud: painter/drawer of constructed identities; Charlton: painter/drawer exploring the ironies of contemporary social and cultural stereotypes. Both are professors at American University, 6 p.m.
• Feb. 21: Gail Anderson, designer, writer and educator. Creative director at the Visual Arts Press at the Scholl for the Visual Arts, AIGA Medal recipient and 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian. 6 p.m.
• March 1, 2019: CECA TN Artist Fellow Lecture, 6 p.m. at the Frist Art Museum.

To allow the community greater access to the exhibitions, The New Gallery will be open during Clarksville’s First Thursday Art Crawls throughout the year. Normal hours for The New Gallery are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Closed on weekends and holidays. The gallery also follows the University’s academic calendar.

For more information on the exhibitions or lectures, contact Dickins at [email protected]. To stay informed of upcoming events or scheduling changes, follow the Department of Art + Design on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.