March 24, 2009

Whitworth Students to Celebrate New Center for Visual Arts
in Junior Exhibit, "Mélange: Beginnings," April 7-17

Whitworth students will display their works in the annual junior art exhibit, "Mélange: Beginnings," April 7-17 in the Bryan Oliver Gallery, Room 201 of the Ernst F. Lied Center for the Visual Arts at Whitworth University. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Admission is free. The gallery will be closed April 10-11. An opening reception will be held Tuesday, April 7, from 5-7 p.m. in the Bryan Oliver Gallery. For more information, please call (509) 777-3258.
 
"Mélange: Beginnings" is an assortment of artworks celebrating the start of a new chapter for Whitworth's art department. In September, Whitworth opened the two-story, 20,000-square-foot Lied Center, which houses six studios and two gallery spaces. This spring, the Whitworth Fine Arts Building, a World War II surplus building that the art department had occupied since 1966, was demolished. “Mélange” will be the first student art show in the Lied Center, and the majority of the works were created in the new facility.

"Late nights with eerie noises and faint rumblings have vanished forever with the old fine arts building, but recollections of past creativity remain with us forever," says student-artist Jessica Butelo. "Now, new memories are being formed in the Lied Center."

The exhibit will feature paintings, prints, graphic design, photography and mixed media by the following Whitworth students: Jessica Butelo, Nathan Ellefson, Justin Farris, Emma Hernas, Joanna Kendall, John Kuhn, Heather Meyer, Katrina Snediker, Mitch Williams, Kathryn Williamson, and Giselle Stone.

Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private, liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The university, which has an enrollment of 2,600 students, offers 53 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. 

Contacts:

Dee Anna Christiansen, art department program assistant, Whitworth University, (509) 777-3258 or dchristiansen@whitworth.edu.

Meagan Stirling, lecturer and art gallery director, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4564 or mstirling@whitworth.edu.

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.