On Feb. 1, 2009, the Mary Brogan Museum will host artwork from the Florida A&M University Fine Arts Society in an exhibition celebrating Black History Month.
The FAMU Fine Arts Society was founded last semester by a group of students with a common goal.
“We wanted to bound and unite the students in and out of the fine arts program,” said Cary Robinson, 22, a fine arts and graphic design student from Mobile, Ala. “We put our minds together to show and encourage students and the community to take an appreciation of our work.”
Harris Wiltshire, a FAMU graduate and now assistant professor in the fine arts program is the overseer of this student organization.
“I always try to encourage students to excel in ways they don’t expect, trying to move their artwork out of the four walls of the fine arts department and into the community,” Wiltshire said.
In November, the students and Wiltshire met with John Gleason, manager of the art exhibition at the Brogan Museum, to discuss entering their artwork for a month long exhibition.
“It’s an honor; especially this being our first exhibition,” said Robinson, founder of the Fine Arts Society. “It’s a good way to gain exposure and get recognized in the community.”
Edmund Royster, a Detroit native, will be entering two pieces into the exhibition: “Inner Struggle of a Black Man” and “One Winged Angel.”
“It’s a great opportunity to see and show people what we can do and let people know more about the fine arts program at FAMU,” said Royster, 21, a fine arts and psychology student.
Robinson said the exhibition will be called “Visions of the FAMU Fine Arts society.” He said it is simple, to the point and open for possibilities.
“We didn’t want to give it a main focus [because] it would limit the amount of art work and the creativity,” Robinson said.
Robinson will be entering two pieces of art; one entitled “Ebony: Reality,” a multimedia piece symbolizing all the artwork from African-American artist.
The artists that will be participating in this exhibition include: Moloch Richardson, Carisse J. Brown, Kris Busby, LaToya Murphy, Idrees Pasha, Edmund Royster, Mercedes Laney, Ja’rel Dawson, LeiToya Snelling, Jean Dornevil and Crosby Scholars, Cary Robinson and Darell Threeths.
The fine arts department receives two Crosby scholarships to award students that embody good academic standing, artist potential and the will to help develop the fine arts program and the community.
The scholarship awards the student with at least $1200 a month as long as they maintain at least a grade point average of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale.
Wiltshire was also a Crosby scholar and said he has high expectations for a successful exhibition.