This spring, two artists will exhibit their work in galleries at the University of North Georgia.
The exhibition "Beautiful" can be found at the Dahlonega campus in the Bob Owens Art Gallery in the HOAG student center until Feb. 12. It is a collaborative project between painter Craig Hawkins and photographer Elizabeth Jones.
The intent of the exhibition, according to Hawkins's website, is to "witness remarkable beauty in the face of suffering," as well as to "raise global awareness of burn victims in India" who have been disfigured through domestic violence.
Hawkins works as a professional studio artist and teaches at Valdosta State University. Victoria Cooke, director of art galleries at UNG, said his paintings and drawings are often based around faith.
Jones, whose photography will accompany Hawkins's artwork, spent a lot of time in India working on the project.
Next month, on the Gainesville campus, another exhibition will open up called "Stupid Love," which will feature ceramic works by Wesley Harvey and will explore the search for love as a gay male. The exhibition will delve into how different dating apps contribute to the perception of love, and what going out and looking for love really looks like.
"Wes does functional work as well as sculptural ceramic work that is narrative," Cooke said.
To determine which artists to feature in UNG's galleries, Cooke says she first turns to the professors. While exhibitions are open to everybody, recommendations tend to come from professors. She looks for diverse artists who make all types of art, ranging from abstract to portraits to landscapes, and for someone who will benefit students.
Featured artists usually participate in classroom workshops and "Artist Talks," which give them the artists the opportunity to talk to students about what it is like to make a career in art.
"Students have a wide variety of interests," Cooke said. "If you look at our students, some of them do figurative work, some of them do portraits, some of them do abstract work, some of them do landscapes. You want to give them a variety of things to see, and it's important to bring in a variety of artists that they can talk to."
Twice a year, students typically get the opportunity to sell their work in the Roy C. Moore Gallery. All of the money from the sale goes to the students, and Cooke says it is normally a good opportunity for students to get their work out there. However, due to the pandemic, the University has not been able to host its student art sale in Gainesville for the last two semesters.
"[The art sale] is one of my favorite things in the whole year," Cooke said. "This spring, we're hoping that we can stay face-to-face so we can have our artist sale."
As for instruction on campus, Cooke said art students have suffered in the pandemic because the major does not transfer well to virtual learning.
"With art, it's not just the instruction. It's also the equipment that the students don't have access to," Cooke said.
The University has dealt with the issue by encouraging social distancing and managing class sizes.
More information about the exhibitions that will be featured in UNG's galleries is available on UNG's website.
