Six FAMU students received local attention when their artwork was displayed Friday in the University’s Foster Tanner Art Gallery for First Friday Gallery Hop.
“First Friday is the night people go out to look at exhibitions and hop from one gallery to another,” said FAMU art professor Chester Williams.
More than 25 museums throughout Tallahassee participated in the First Friday Gallery Hop by opening up their gallery to the city of Tallahassee free of charge.
Galleries, such as 621 Gallery, structure their show around First Friday’s.
“Relatively soon after First Fridays began, we coordinated our opening with First Friday’s to ensure brand new shows every month,” said board of directors’ president Angie Lewis.
The Council on Culture and Art coordinates Tallahassee’s First Friday Gallery Hop.
“In large cities, it is a big deal to attend First Fridays,” Williams said.
As an art professor, Williams in the past has made his students attend art galleries to get a feel and understanding of the event.
“I encourage my students to go and write a paper on the exhibition,” Williams said.
Last month, in conjunction with First Friday, FAMU hosted an African exhibition titled, “The Majesty of African-American Motherhood.”
“The next show is a student showcase for seniors,” Williams said. “All of them have to put on an exhibition from a combination of in-class and out-of-class artwork.”
For the month of April FAMU will present “Vision 5-Graduating Senior Art Exhibition.”
The exhibit will consist of artwork from six graduating seniors from FAMU’s art department: Njjamar Felder, Loretta Smith, Charles Hester, Daren Watson, Aeleise Harris and Ta’Rika Green.
“We’ve been preparing since last semester,” said Felder, a senior from Jacksonville. He said preparing for the exhibition was fun and frustrating at the same time.
“Preparation consisted of determining what you want to show the people,” he said.
The student showcase will include an array of artwork ranging from fashion, visual arts, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, watercolor and photography.
“My exhibition is quite different because I’m doing fashion,” Felder said. “It’s an 11-piece couture collection.” His collection took five months to design.
Felder, a fine arts student, has been designing for six years.
“I want the people to see that Florida State University is not the only school producing designers,” he said.