For its latest community program, Ohio Wesleyan University’s Richard M. Ross Art Museum is going “In the Studio” with a virtual series of Facebook Live events. The monthly series, set to launch Oct. 25, is scheduled to include three artists discussing their art and process through the museum’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/RossArtMuseum.
“Audiences will have an opportunity to get to know artists in their studios and learn what they are working on/thinking about right now,” said Erin Fletcher, museum director, with each program running 20 to 30 minutes followed by an opportunity for questions.
The name, “In the Studio,” builds upon the theme of the current OWU faculty exhibit now on display inside the museum, Fletcher said, but the new Facebook Live series “is built to champion regional Black artists.”
“The goal is to use the museum as a platform to amplify the voices of regional Black artists and let our audience connect with Black creators,” she said.
Artists scheduled to appear “In the Studio” and the dates and time of their Facebook Live events are as follows:
• 2 p.m. Oct. 25 – Darryl DeAngelo Terrell
From Detroit, Terrell works within lens-based media, including photography and video. “I’m always thinking about how my work can aid to a larger conversation about blackness and its many intersectionalities,” Terrell states. “My work explores the displacement of black and brown people, femme identity, and strength, the black family structure, sexuality, gender, safe spaces for all black bodies, and personal stories, all while keeping in mind the accessibility of art.” Terrell holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Learn more at www.darryldterrell.com.
• 2 p.m. Nov. 22 – Johnny Coleman
An interdisciplinary artist and educator, Coleman is a professor of Studio Art and Africana Studies at Oberlin College. He describes his sculptural work and sound installations as “intentional gestures in homage and prayer.” Coleman states, “My work is centered upon themes of the crossroads: a focal point/threshold of challenge and transformation. For the last 30 years, I have been composing spaces activated as prayers: requests for guidance, conscious statements of intent, and thanksgiving.” He earned his Master of Fine Arts Degree from the University of California at San Diego. Learn more at www.peasandricepress.com.
• 2 p.m. Dec. 13 – Andrew Wilson
A 2013 Ohio Wesleyan graduate, Wilson will spend a semester as OWU’s Artist in Residence in spring 2021. He is a multimedia artist “working in the intersections of ritual and funerary rights honoring the deceased, the ways objects accumulate spirit particles, and how these collide to open portals to different dimensions.” Wilson’s work has been described as “at once beautiful with an attention to craftsmanship and repulsing in its graphic subject matter.” At OWU, Wilson concentrated his fine arts studies on jewelry and metalwork. He earned his Master of Fine Arts Degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Learn more at www.aiwart.com.
Fletcher said the Ross is launching the Facebook Live programming for a number of reasons.
“First, in the time of COVID-19 we are looking for digital ways to reach our audience,” she said. “Second, the museum is responding to calls at the university and nationally to recognize that Black Lives Matter. The entire first-year class at Ohio Wesleyan is reading Ibram Kendi’s ‘How to be an Antiracist’ and discussing the effects of historical and current racism in the U.S.
“Showing museum support for these issues in Delaware, Ohio, is also critical given the local call from the Delaware African American History Council and the Unity Community Center for more diversity, equity, and inclusion awareness and representation in the city,” Fletcher said. “This is also a part of our effort to ensure that conversations around race and equity are a part of our work at the museum – part of which includes directing resources/bringing attention to regional artists of color.”
During the academic year, the Ross Art Museum is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Visitors are required to wear masks. The museum is handicap-accessible and admission is always free. During fall semester, it will be closed for Thanksgiving break from Nov. 21 through Nov. 30 and for winter break beginning Dec. 18. For more information, call (740) 368-3606, or visit www.owu.edu/ross or www.facebook.com/RossArtMuseum.
