Pasted-up woodblock prints expected to last 1 to 2 years in alley
off Oak Street
Students whose woodblock prints are on display in downtown Conway include, from
left: Colm Simmons ’26, English-Literary Analysis major; Max Lanford ’26, Art major;
Kate Adcox ’26, Psychology major; Ayden Huckelbury ’25, Art major; Ruby Slarks ’25,
Health Science major; and Kobi Greer ’24, Art major.
CONWAY,
Arkansas (April 5, 2024)—Just across Oak Street from Bob’s Grill, southeast of
the intersection known as Toad Suck Square, a new exhibition of Hendrix College
student art has made an appearance just in time for the Conway Art Walk, held
on the first Friday of each month from 5 to 8 p.m.
Six students from Professor of Art
Melissa Gill’s printmaking class—only two of whom are majoring in art—recently
accompanied her to the alleyway, carrying their large-scale woodblock prints
and some wallpaper paste.
Was it a guerrilla installation? Not
quite—Gill worked with Nick Stevens at the Creative Institute of Central
Arkansas to find the space and get permission for the show. However, it does
echo the days when protest signs, event posters, and other advertisements
routinely appeared on exterior brick walls in cityscapes. The works are
expected to withstand the elements for at least a year, perhaps as long as two.
The students’ chosen topics for
their prints reflect their own concerns, transcending a mere classroom
assignment, yet typical of a Hendrix educational experience. This installation is part of a Hendrix Odyssey Program experiential learning project that Gill is leading.
“This project is a great example of
a liberal arts education because students from a variety of majors have used it
to engage the public with their art about issues that are important to them,
such as social media, pollution, and the election,” Gill said. “They rose to
the challenge of designing, carving, printing, and installing large-format
prints brilliantly!”
About Hendrix College
Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is
featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You
Think About Colleges and celebrated among the country’s leading liberal arts
colleges for academic quality, engaged learning opportunities and career
preparation, vibrant campus life, and value. The Hendrix College Warriors
compete in 21 NCAA Division III sports. Hendrix has been affiliated with the
United Methodist Church since 1884. Learn more at www.hendrix.edu.
“… Through engagement that links the
classroom with the world, and a commitment to diversity, inclusion, justice,
and sustainable living, the Hendrix community inspires students to lead lives
of accomplishment, integrity, service, and joy.”
—Hendrix College Statement of Purpose