This was the best art conference that I have ever been to,” said Adele Wayman, Art Department Chair.
Wayman co-organized Guilford’s second Alumni Art Exchange, which took place on April 2 and 3. The event was an opportunity for alumni who have established successful careers in the arts to return to the college and share their experiences, and their artwork, with the Guilford community.
Various panel discussions were given on Friday, opened by keynote speaker Elizabeth Burke (’90) with “The Business of Art for Artists.” Other panels included “Art Related Careers” and “Surviving and Thriving as Practicing Artists.” All events were free and open to the public.
The day’s events concluded with a reception for the Alumni Art Exhibition in Hege Library. The collection, which includes a variety of media from painting to video animation, exhibits artwork by 44 Guilford alumni from 1948 to 2003 and will be on display until May 9.
Ingeborg Longerich Snipes (’49) contributed “Becoming,” a brilliantly colored photograph of a modernistic arrangement of fruit. Abigail Blosser’s (’97) piece was entitled “Something I Want To Tell You,” and consisted of an overflowing bowl of potato chips, each colored with a digital transfer of a face. Philip Haralam’s (’02) piece was more traditional, but no less impressive: an elegantly constructed vase with dark glaze swirled over its textured surface.
The returning artists had nothing but praise for the department and the college that started them on their artistic paths.
“I learned to really see at Guilford,” said Jennifer Coolidge (’87), now the executive director of the DeLand Museum of Art. “I learned to look further.”
“It made me a more receptive person,” said Kitty Hubbard (’87), currently an assistant professor at S.U.N.Y.-Brockport. “More open-minded and open to opportunity.”
Alumni praised the art department at Guilford for providing both a strong groundwork in the basics and also offering opportunities for students to pursue their own artistic aspirations.
“The discipline that the art department gave me provided a good foundation in art,” Coolidge said. “The practical experience of being a student curator at Guilford planted the seeds for my current work as a museum director.”
Part of the Guilford philosophy includes educating students about social consciousness and finding one’s place in the wider community. This is not neglected in the art department, and much of the exhibited work showed elements of this philosophy.
“As soon as I came back to Guilford this weekend I felt what I call the Guilford spirit, that whatever you do here has a component of community,” said Melissa Potter, who attended Guilford between ’88 and ’90. “That philosophy of your knowledge equaling power and responsibility.