Please check back regularly as we update information on all four art exhibitions to be held on the campus of MTSU in the summer of 2025.
TAA PROFESSIONAL ART EXHIBITION OPENING, ARTIST TALK AND RECEPTION
Monday • July 14 • 4:30 - 6:30 PM
Todd Art Gallery
Todd Hall, Middle Tennessee State University
As an Afro-Caribbean American artist, my work explores identity through portraiture in a variety of mediums. I am a painter who is currently painting with fibers, specifically yarn and thread. I narrate stories of the presentation of otherness through my choices in materials. My works range from three inches to twelve feet, depicting people from within my community that have swagger. This presentation of visibility communicates the lack thereof for others in the United States and in the Caribbean. In order to be seen, you choose things that will make you stand out. It's a defense mechanism for survival. As a first generation American, my work explores strength through vulnerability and community. I explore ways in which we celebrate ourselves so we can see ourselves in spaces where we have been erased. I create art to be included in the history of art and to prove that representation matters.
Artist Biography
Kandy Lopez is an associate professor in the department of communication, media, and arts at the Halmos College of Art & Sciences at Nova Southeastern University. She was born in New Jersey and moved with her family to Florida. Lopez received degrees from the University of South Florida, concentrating in painting and in marketing and management, and then received her master's degree with a concentration in painting from Florida Atlantic University in 2014. Prior to working at Halmos College, she had served on the faculty at Florida Atlantic University and Daytona State College. As an Afro-Caribbean visual artist, she is eager to be challenged materialistically and metaphorically when representing marginalized individuals that inspire and move her. Her works are created out of the necessity to learn something new about her people and culture. Lopez works with a variety of mediums, including stained glass, paint, collage, and fiber materials, which are used to depict real people. Utilizing yarn, threads, and recycled clothing, she constructs the image of her subject to depict their unique energy that originally inspired her. Lopez is interested in developing a nostalgic dialogue between the artwork and the viewer. If she’s not learning from her materials and how it affects the message, it's not worth creating.
Professional Exhibition
July 15–August 9, 2024
Leu Art Gallery (Lila D. Bunch Library)
Opening Reception
Monday • July 15, 2024 • 4:30 - 6:30 PM
Leu Art Gallery (Lila D. Bunch Library)
Professional Exhibition
Artist Talk
Monday • July 15, 2024 • 5:15 PM
Leu Art Gallery (Lila D. Bunch Library)
Artist Talk with Kandy Lopez
Monday • July 14 • 5:15 PM
Todd Art Gallery
Todd Hall, Middle Tennessee State University
The Myth of Absence is co-sponsored by the Middle Tennessee State University College of Art and Design and is made possible by generous gifts from Rena Ellzy, Solie Fott, and the Tennessee Arts Academy Foundation.
Todd Hall, First Floor Galleries
July 7-August 1, 2025
The Tennessee Arts Academy is pleased to offer a student art exhibit as part of its summer enrichment experience. Tennessee’s Best of the Best Student Art Exhibition is a collection of the best pieces in various media by student artists from the three grand divisions of the state. The students whose work will be featured have won college scholarships for their achievements and have had their work exhibited in museums throughout the state of Tennessee. The work displayed to the left is the West Tennessee Best of Show winner. Click here to see all of the Best of Show winners.
July 7 – August 1, 2025
Todd Hall, First Floor Galleries
The Tennessee Arts Academy is very proud to exhibit the work of practicing artists-teachers alongside the exemplary work created by their students. Connections: Tennessee Art Education Association Member Exhibition is a juried show featuring the work of kindergarten through higher education art educators from across Tennessee. The work displayed to the left is the First Place winner. Click here to see the other winning pieces.
Todd Hall, First Floor Galleries
July 7-August 1, 2025
The STARS exhibition showcases the talent and hard work of K-5 grade level art students and teachers from across Tennessee. Nineteen pieces of art were selected by a panel of judges based on the alignment of the artwork to visual art standards, technique, personal expression, and composition. This year's exhibition was held at the Tennessee State Museum. The Tennessee Arts Academy STARS exhibition features the first-place winners at each grade level as well as the Best of Show winners. The work displayed to the left is the Best of Show (3rd Grade) winner. Click here to see the other winning pieces.
Tennessee’s Best of the Best Student Art Exhibition and Connections: Tennessee Art Education Association Member Exhibition are co-sponsored by the Tennessee Arts Academy and the Tennessee Arts Education Association and are presented in partnership with the Middle Tennessee State University Department of Art and Design.
The STARS exhibition at the Tennessee Arts Academy is sponsored and organized by the Tennessee Art Education Association and co-sponsored by the Tennessee Arts Academy. The exhibition is presented in partnership with the Middle Tennessee State University Department of Art and Design.
Special thanks to Jimmy Mumford, MTSU Department of Art and Design Chair; Eric Snyder, MTSU Gallery Coordinator; Rick Rishaw, MTSU Gallery Preparator; and to Jim Dodson, the founder and creator of the Best of the Best and Connections exhibitions.
Each year on Tuesday during the Academy week, TAA hosts an afternoon community art crawl showcasing the TAA art exhibitions. The crawl also includes an invitation to visit the Belmont Mansion and participate in tours of the two museums on the Belmont campus. This year’s event occurs on July 16, 2024 from 5 – 7 PM. Details on all aspects of the art crawl follow below.
Tuesday • July 16 • 5:00–7:00 PM
Participants are invited to visit the following exhibits and museums during the TAA Art Crawl:
Belmont Mansion
As part of the TAA Art Crawl, participants are invited on Tuesday afternoon at 5:00 p.m. for a tour of the historic Belmont Mansion. The event features Susan Ramsay playing hammered dulcimer. Light refreshments will be served.
Lila D. Bunch Library, First Floor
Participants are invited to view the Frederick Hart Studio Museum and the Gallery of Iconic Guitars (GIG) Museum as part of the TAA Art Crawl. Both are located on the first floor of the Lila D. Bunch Library.
Leu Art Gallery (Lila D. Bunch Library)
Leu Center for the Visual Arts
Gallery 121
Leu Center for the Visual Arts
Lobby Gallery
Belmont University
Daily Exhibition Locations Throughout Campus
Art Crawl
Tuesday • July 15, 2025 • 11:15 AM to 1:15 PM
MTSU Todd Art Gallery & Todd Hall First Floor Galleries
On Tuesday, as part of Visual Art Recognition Day, TAA Summer Institute participants, faculty, and guests will take part in the annual TAA Art Crawl from 11:15 AM to 1:15 PM. Many of the visual art student winners whose works are featured in the Best of the Best Student Art Exhibition will be standing in front of their artwork to offer commentary and answer questions. The four art exhibitions on display are located in Todd Hall on the MTSU campus and will include:
• The Myth of Absence by Kandy Lopez
• Tennessee’s Best of the Best Student Art Exhibition
• Connections: Tennessee Art Education Association Member Exhibition
• STARS: The State of Tennessee Art Review and Showcase
Visual Art Recognition Day
Awards and Reception
Tuesday • July 15, 2025 • 5:00 PM
MTSU Todd Art Gallery, Todd Hall
The Tennessee Arts Academy invites all TAA Summer Institute participants and faculty to attend a special recognition ceremony in honor of the 2025 students and teachers who received commendations for their artwork in both Tennessee’s Best of the Best Student Art Exhibition and Connections: Tennessee Art Education Association Member Exhibition. Prizes and certificates will be awarded. The recognition ceremony is sponsored by the Tennessee Art Education Association and will be held in the Todd Art Gallery in Todd Hall on the Middle Tennessee State University campus. The event will begin at 5:00 PM and will be followed by a reception, sponsored by the Tennessee Arts Academy, in honor of all the student and teacher winners. The public is invited to attend.
