Recently in Akus Gallery Category
Written by Dwight Bachman and Ed Osborn
 Willimantic, Conn. -- 1,256 undergraduates and 41 graduate students heard the roars and cheers of thousands of their family members and friends as they celebrated their achievements at Eastern Connecticut State University's 123nd Commencement exercises at the XL Center in Hartford on May 14.
Carlotta Walls LaNier, the youngest member of the "Little Rock Nine," gave the Commencement Address, telling the graduates "This is your moment, a time you have been looking forward to and working toward since you first arrived at Eastern. Celebrate the moment; seize it. Step out into your future bravely and boldly." LaNier noted that the graduates were bound to encounter challenges. Those experiences will be "the greatest teacher in the grand classroom of life. Those challenges will show you who you really are."
The Little Rock Nine was a group of nine African American students who desegregated Central High School in Little Rock, AR, in 1957. Due to the segregation policies of Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus and the mob atmosphere in Little Rock at the time, President Dwight Eisenhower ordered 1,000 members of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division to Arkansas to provide protection and escort the nine students to class throughout the 1957-58 school year.
Despite the daily military escort, LaNier and her friends were kicked, hit with rocks, threatened, and shunned. Her own home was firebombed. As the onslaught continued, "the more determined I became to get my diploma." Today, she has "made peace with my past."
LaNier turned to the Class of 2013 and encouraged them to have the same commitment: "Finish whatever goals you have set for yourself. Find the strength, fortitude and determination to see it through. When you see injustice, how will you respond? I hope you take the heroic stand." LaNier was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa at the Commencement Exercises.
Eastern President Elsa M. Nunez told the graduates, "There is no other country in the world that places its future so firmly in the hands of the people. You are now the next generation of citizen leaders in our state and in our nation. . . . The world needs your energy, your enthusiasm, and your skills . . . There is a challenge out there ready for you to conquer, whether it's helping out at your church or synagogue, volunteering at the local senior center, or inventing a new surgical procedure. There is a team somewhere that needs you to complete its mission."
 As an example of the contributions Eastern students are making in the world, Nunez cited more than 100,000 hours of volunteer work performed by Eastern students, faculty, and staff each year in local communities, noting that President Barack Obama's had named Eastern to his National Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for the third time in four years that past March.At the same time, President Nunez told the graduates to "be yourself and do what makes you happy," and quoted New England bard Henry Thoreau, who wrote: "Do what you love. Know your own bone; gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it, and gnaw it still."
 From the Governor's Foot Guard Color Guard in attendance, to the plaintive sound of the bagpipes of the St. Patrick's Pipe Band and the pre-event music of the Thread City Brass Quintet, Eastern's graduation ceremonies were marked by dignity, grace and elegance. Senior Jessica Johnson sang "America the Beautiful," and Senior Class President Thomas Balestracci presented President Núñez with the class gift, a scholarship funded by more than 200 donations from the graduating class. Balestracci encouraged his classmates to continue donating so that the scholarship would grow. "We have all benefited from our experiences here at Eastern. These experiences are the ones that we will keep with us forever as we move on. They will be the ones we will look back upon and realize that they have helped us become who we are today. We lived up each day like it was our last at Eastern, and now, it really is our last day. We have turned our dreams into reality during our time at this University and we made memories that will last a lifetime."
 Yvette Melendez, vice president of the Board of Regents for Higher Education, the governing body for the 17 Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, brought greetings on behalf of the Board of Regents. "Congratulations to each and every one of you for reaching this incredible milestone. This is one of those moments that will forever be embedded in your memory. You are at the beginning of a future you have just begun to mold. You took the first step in that journey by enrolling at Eastern. You have much to be proud of." Meléndez urged the graduates to make their contribution to society "in the way that Eastern has taught you. You have worked exceedingly hard . . . you have learned that regardless of major, you are part of a community."
 Nana Owusu-Agyemang of Ghana, West Africa, delivered the Senior Class Address. She thanked the faculty for their support, saying, "During my time here at Eastern, I have met professors that I simply cannot forget -- professors who really care for their students. It will forever strike me how much time professors at Eastern are willing to spend with each student...how much of themselves they give. It's not just the professors who make Eastern what it is. At Eastern it's not just about imparting knowledge, it's about joining hands to mold each student into a richer person academically and mentally, as well." Owusu-Agyemang closed by quoting the late philosopher Alan Watts, who once said, "The attitude of faith is to let go, and become open to truth, whatever it might turn out to be."
"May our truth be a good truth," said Owusu-Agyemang. "May our world be a good world. May our mark be a good mark."
Carlotta Walls LaNier made history at age 14 when she enrolled at Central High School as a sophomore. On the first day of school she was surrounded by an angry mob that prevented the nine African American students from entering the building. After two weeks of protests and violence, President Dwight Eisenhower sent U.S. Army troops to Little Rock to protect the "Little Rock Nine" by escorting them to class for a year. Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus closed Little Rock schools for the 1958-59 school year, forcing LaNier to take correspondence courses. In June 1960, she became the first African American female student to graduate from Central High School.
LaNier has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the prestigious Spingarn Medal from the NAACP in 1958, and the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation's highest civilian award, which was bestowed upon the Little Rock Nine in 1999 by President Bill Clinton. She is also the author of "A Mighty Long Way: My Journey to Justice of Little Rock Central High School."
Written by Gabrielle Little
 Willimantic, Conn. CT - Students from Eastern Connecticut State University's Visual Arts Department will showcase their work at the Annual Senior Art Exhibit from May 3-14 at the Julian Akus Gallery, located in Shafer Hall at the corner of Windham and Valley Streets in Willimantic. The opening Visual Arts awards ceremony is from 3-4 p.m. and the exhibition reception is from 4-6 p.m. The gallery will remain open until 6 p.m. The public is invited. Admission is free.
According to Visual Arts professor Gail Gelburd, "The senior project is a capstone that gives students an opportunity to use all of their experiences and creativity to develop their own project or to work together on a real-world experience in design. The exhibit will include large scale paintings, mixed media, work created as multiples, digital projections, package design and work done for the Hole in the Wall Camp."
Akus Gallery hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 1-7 p.m. on Thursdays and 2-5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The gallery is closed on Mondays and Fridays.
For more information regarding the exhibit, visit www.easternct.edu/akusgallery.
Written by Gabrielle Little
Willimantic, Conn. - The Akus Gallery at Eastern Connecticut State University will host a symposium for its latest exhibition, "From Motherhood to Mother Goddess: Transcendence from Self to Absolute," from 3-5 p.m. on April 3 in the Shafer Auditorium.
The panel will include Gail Gelburd, professor and chair of the Visual Arts Department; Reynold Kerr, art critic and curator of African Art; Vladimir Merchenkov, professor of aesthetics and theory of Ohio University; Robert Newman, author and academic scholar; and Neeta Omprakash, Nehru-Fulbright Scholar.
According to Gelburd, "The significance of the Mother Goddess is seen not only in the rituals performed in the traditional societies, but it also gives cultural identity. The Mother Goddess, basically, symbolizes either generative or destructive powers."
For more information about the exhibition, please contact the Akus Gallery at www.easternct.edu/akusgallery or (860) 465-4659.
Written by Nana OwusuAgyemang
Left, installation artist Amina Ahmed, and right, curator Neeta Omrpakash.
Willimantic, Conn. - The Visual Arts Department and Akus Gallery at Eastern Connecticut State University will present the exhibition, "From Motherhood to Mother Goddess," from March 14 to April 25.
The opening reception on March 14 will feature English Professor and storyteller Raouf Mama; Tenzin Wangchuk who will perform Tibetan chants; and performance artist Karen Dolminitsh. The reception will take place from 4-7 p.m. in the Akus Gallery on the lower level of Shafer Hall. A related symposium takes place on April 3 from 3-5 p.m. in Shafer Auditorium with scholars from various disciplines and cultural backgrounds.
 "The more than 30 artworks in this exhibition are an attempt to analyze the process of transcendence from motherhood to Mother Goddess," said Neeta Omprakash Naique, curator and Nehru Fullbright scholar. "The artists have expressed their views and queries in visual language, bringing together iconic as well as anthropomorphic forms of Mother Goddesses from Tibet, India, Africa and America's Marilyn Monroe!" These artists are local, national, international and reveal the universality of this theme.
 "The 16 participants of this exhibition are first-and second-generation transnational artists from India, Africa, Cuba and Puerto Rico who question the tradition of worship, and juxtapose it with contemporary reality," said Gail Gelburd, professor and chair of the Visual Arts Department. "They further make an attempt to connect with personal experience and give it a universal connotation, and in turn, propel one to question the very concept of the Mother Goddess. In doing so, they invariably search for the one (Mother Goddess) from their contemporary society."
Omprakash says, "The process of de-coding the meaning of various symbols and the revelation of the inherent meaning is amazing and enriching. This exhibition further adds colors from America onto my Indian palette."
Omprakash has become the quintessential transnational engaged in global exploration.  She has reached across thousands of miles from Goa, India to Connecticut, to explore the myths of gods and goddesses. As a resident Nehru-Fulbright scholar, she has inculcated students and faculty with the myths of India, while discovering the diversity of the United States. Using her role as an art critic, she has explored the art of African American, Cuban, Latina and Tibetan art and the diversity that represents art in the United States. "She has found a bond in the universality of the Mother and the Goddess. In this exhibition and catalog, she shares that transnational universality," said Gelburd.
For more information about the exhibition, please contact the Akus Gallery at www.easternct.edu/akusgallery or (860) 465-4659
Written by Christopher J. Herman
 Willimantic, Conn. - Eastern Connecticut State University is hosting "Virtue and Vice: The World of Lizbeth Anderson" in the Akus Gallery through Feb. 28. A reception will take place on Jan. 31 from 5-7 p.m.
Anderson is a mixed-media artist, tattooer and art historian.
She works in a variety of media including paint, beeswax, collage, techniques of printmaking and skin. She also teaches historical painting techniques focused on the methods of the medieval and Renaissance Italian masters. She shows and sells her artwork at various venues.
Anderson has traveled extensively in Italy and has studied the work and culture of 14th century Tuscan painters, as well as Baroque Italian sculpture and architecture. She has an acute interest in skin, anatomy and the history of tattooing. "Beeswax became a way for me to explore metaphorically the physicality of the body without being a traditionally figurative painter," said Anderson. "Its luminous, visceral and literally alchemical properties became carriers for the content of my work. Ultimately, the intersection of the physical body and the spirit, of instinct and intellect, of virtue and vice, has been the motivation for me to make work for as long as I can remember."
The Akus Gallery is located in the lower level of Shafer Hall at the corner of Windham and Valley Streets in Willimantic. Gallery hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 1-7 p.m. on Thursday and 2-5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
For more information, call (860) 465-4659 or visit www.easternct.edu/akusgallery.
For more information on Anderson's work, visit www.lizbethanderson.net.
Written by Dwight Bachman
 Willimantic, Conn: -- The Akus Gallery at Eastern Connecticut State University is hosting "A Glimpse into Akus: Selections from the Permanent Collection at Eastern Connecticut State University" from Oct. 25-Dec. 18. A reception takes place on Nov. 1 from 5-7 p.m.
'A Glimpse into Akus' is a series of paintings, sculpture, mixed media and work on paper featuring the work of numerous artists," said Roxanne Deojay, Akus Gallery coordinator. Featured artists include Adam Baer, Guillaume Cornelis Van Beverloo, Colette Butterick, Michael Cipriano, Laura Fragua-Cota, Sue Fuller, Ceci Garcia, Serge Geffrard, John Gregoropoulos, Hugh Kelly, Robert Kiley, Jae-Im Kim, Norman Laliberte, Bonnie Lucas, Bridget Lynch, Bartolome Mayol, Augustus Mazzocca, Laurie Sloan, Estella Tedeschi, David Teft, Frank Trapp, Marie Wheeler, Hale Aspacio Woodruff, Nahum Tschacbasovand Irene Tsachcbasov Zevon. "It's a really fine representation of Eastern's collection, excluding most recent acquisition," said Deojay.
 Tom Hebert, adjunct faculty member in the Visual Arts Department agreed: "It's interesting to see pieces that haven't been seen. There's such a wide flavor of abstractions and realism."
The Akus Gallery is located in the lower level of Shafer Hall at the corner of Windham and Valley Streets in Willimantic. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 1 to 7 p.m. on Thursday and 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. For more information, call (860) 465-4659 or visit www.easternct.edu/akusgallery.
Written by Rebecca Holdridge
Willimantic, Conn. Eastern Connecticut State University will hold an open house for prospective students from noon to 4 p.m. on Oct. 14. During the open house, potential students will learn about the benefits of Eastern's liberal arts education and can also tour the campus.
From noon to 4 p.m. an academic, athletic and activities fair will be held in Geissler Gymnasium, where faculty, staff and coaches will discuss a wide range of opportunities for students who enroll at Eastern. At 1:15 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. in Room 104 of the Science Building, the Admissions Office will offer guidance on the admissions process. For Spanish-speaking students, a concurrent session will be held at 1:15 p.m. in Room 115 of the Student Center.
At 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. in the Student Center Theatre, Eastern's Housing Office will discuss what is expected of students who live on campus. At 12:30 p.m. in the Betty R. Tipton Room of the Student Center, Eastern President Elsa Núñez will share her vision for Eastern.
At 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. in Room 219 of the Student Center, Political Science Professor Bill Salka will discuss the University Honors Program. The Financial Aid Office will hold information sessions at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. in the Betty R. Tipton Room. At 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. in Room 110 of Webb Hall, the Department of Education faculty will discuss Eastern's Teacher Education Program, including how to apply and why the program is unique.
Campus tours of the Child and Family Development Resource Center, the J. Eugene Smith Library, the Science Building, and other facilities will be provided throughout the afternoon.
Written by Rebecca Holdridge
 Willimantic, Conn. Eastern Connecticut State University will hold an open house for prospective students from noon to 4 p.m. on Oct. 14. During the open house, potential students will learn about the benefits of Eastern's liberal arts education and can also tour the campus.
From noon to 4 p.m. an academic, athletic and activities fair will be held in Geissler Gymnasium, where faculty, staff and coaches will discuss a wide range of opportunities for students who enroll at Eastern. At 1:15 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. in Room 104 of the Science Building, the Admissions Office will offer guidance on the admissions process. For Spanish-speaking students, a concurrent session will be held at 1:15 p.m. in Room 115 of the Student Center.
At 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. in the Student Center Theatre, Eastern's Housing Office will discuss what is expected of students who live on campus. At 12:30 p.m. in the Betty R. Tipton Room of the Student Center, Eastern President Elsa Núñez will share her vision for Eastern.
At 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. in Room 219 of the Student Center, Political Science Professor Bill Salka will discuss the University Honors Program. The Financial Aid Office will hold information sessions at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. in the Betty R. Tipton Room. At 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. in Room 110 of Webb Hall, the Department of Education faculty will discuss Eastern's Teacher Education Program, including how to apply and why the program is unique.
Campus tours of the Child and Family Development Resource Center, the J. Eugene Smith Library, the Science Building, and other facilities will be provided throughout the afternoon.
Written by Ed Osborn
Willimantic, CT -- For the third year in a row, Eastern Connecticut State University is ranked in the top 30 public universities in the North Region in U.S. News and World Report's 2013 edition of Best Colleges. Eastern was the highest ranked university among the four Connecticut state universities. Again, Eastern was in the top 100 regional universities -- both public and private -- in the region.
Regional universities such as Eastern are ranked on the basis of criteria that include peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving. The North Region includes colleges and universities from New England, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland.
"On behalf of the entire Eastern campus community, I am honored to learn that Eastern Connecticut State University is again ranked in the top 30 public regional universities in the North by U.S. News and World Report," said Eastern President Elsa Núñez.
"We are honored to be a Tier One institution with a public mission to provide an outstanding liberal arts education to students from all walks of life. Today's news is a tribute to our entire campus community. To continue to be ranked this highly in the U.S. News ratings is a sign of an improved academic reputation and the quality of our faculty and educational programs. We are also working hard to give Eastern students more opportunities to apply their classroom learning in such experiences as internships, paid co-ops, service learning, undergraduate research and other applied settings. This is a great day for our faculty, staff, students and alumni."
This year's U.S. News and World Report rankings included reviews of 1,391 schools nationwide and are available at www.usnews.com/colleges. They will also be published in the Best Colleges 2013 Guidebook, published by U.S. News & World Report and available on newsstands starting Sept. 18.
Over the past two decades, the U.S. News and World Report rankings, which group colleges based on categories created by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, have grown to be the most comprehensive research tool for students and parents considering higher education opportunities.
The 2013 Best Colleges program provides the most thorough examination of 1,391 accredited four-year schools, compared on a set of 16 widely accepted indicators of excellence.
Written by Chris Herman
 Willimantic, Conn. - The Akus Gallery at Eastern Connecticut State University will host an exhibition by Printmakers Network of Southern New England (PNSNE) titled "Score 2012" from Aug. 30-Oct. 1, with a special opening reception on Sept. 6 from 5-7 p.m. The exhibition, which includes PNSNE's sixth portfolio, celebrates the organization's 20thanniversary.
"Score 2012" features the work of such New England artists including Shirley Bernstein, Joan Cole, Eric Goldberg, Melody Knight Leary, Amanda Lebel and Rhea Nowak.
Founded in 1992 by four artists and the Connecticut Commission on the Arts, the organization today is a loose-knit network of artists and printmakers who remain independent, yet have common goals.
 "I have been involved with the Printmaking Network of Southern New England since our first organizational meeting 20 years ago," said Shirley Bernstein, former assistant professor of visual arts at Eastern. "I was drawn to the idea of promoting printmaking by educating potential printmakers and the public through workshops, demonstrations and exhibitions. I find this group and their work personally inspirational. The network creates an environment that encourages collaboration within as well as networking outside the group."
 Score 2012 showcases both PNSNE's 2012 portfolio and individual works of art, which explore a variety of printmaking techniques and creative expression of regional, contemporary printmakers. Lebel, assistant professor of visual arts, said she used a technique called "designed repeat" to emphasize the conundrum of collecting, in that even when more is added, the collection is never complete. "I began working on both of my prints for the exhibition while teaching screen printing at Eastern last semester," said Lebel. "Students were able to see my process throughout the semester and with this exhibition will be able to experience the final pieces."
PNSNE meets six times a year, visiting numerous museums and gallery sites prior and school print studios in Southern New England, picking central locations to give members an opportunity to visit different print workshops and exhibitions. PNSNE has collaborated with local New England poets to produce a book titled "Travel." Their work has been featured in many venues, including Wheaton College, Fairfield University, the Dodd Center at the University of Connecticut and the Newport Art Museum.
For more information on Score 2012, contact the Akus Gallery at (860) 465-4659.
| |
|
|
