From February 11 – March 13, the ACWL-Nuveen’s exhibition gallery will be transformed with artwork created by three talented faculty and the work of ceramic students from the Muskegon Community College Art Department. The exhibition showcases the stellar professional artist/educators running the art programming offered at MCC, Keith Downie, Lee Ann Frame, and Erin Hoffman, and highlights the educational opportunities available for the community.
Lee Ann Frame Keith Downie Erin Hoffman
After managing the Art Department for 40 years out of a windowless pull barn on campus, MCC invested $9 million in a new state of the art building dedicated to art and music https://www.muskegoncc.edu/arts-and-humanities/art-and-music-building/ The new light-filled building was dedicated in August 2019 and features updated art accommodations including a fully equipped printmaking facility, ceramic studio, woodshop, drawing, painting, 2D and 3D design studios, lecture hall and open studio space for both students and faculty. The students in the MCC Art Department are comprised of general education students working toward their Associates Degree and transitioning to a four-year college, art majors, and non-traditional students returning to school after raising a family or retiring. For residents of Muskegon County over the age of 60 wanting to learn more about art history or experience hands-on art making, MCC offers a tuition waiver for one class per semester! This dynamic mix of traditional and non-traditional students creating art side by side is what makes the art program at MCC special. MCC faculty Keith Downie states that flexibility and accessibility is key, “our studio classes are designed with the objective of providing students with a broad investigation of art and aesthetics; drawing or painting or any other medium is a vehicle for creative exploration. A successful class provides our students with a conceptual framework for the viewing, analysis, and evaluation of not only painting, but any art form.”
The care taken in crafting the art program at the MCC is also evident in the individual artwork created by MCC faculty members currently on display at the ACWL-Nuveen. The aesthetic and conceptual sophistication of each work created by Downie, Frame and Hoffman is a testament to the dedication to their private studio work and their skill with time management. It is no small feat to maintain a professional art practice, exhibiting nationally and regionally, and be an actively engaged art educator. The exhibit includes large format acrylic paintings on panel by Keith Downie, and various unique relief prints by printmakers, LeeAnn Frame and Erin Hoffman. Although Frame and Hoffman execute similar printmaking techniques in creating their artwork, their imagery and style is distinctly different. Ms. Hoffman uses historical and politically themed imagery to examine aspects of contemporary American society in her artwork and Ms. Frame takes an in-depth look at our natural environment in her detailed relief prints.
The public is invited to stop by and view this engaging exhibit and learn more about the art offerings at the MCC. The ACWL-Nuveen is open Tuesday – Friday 11:00am – 5:30pm and Saturday 11:00am – 3:00pm. In lieu of an opening reception, a Facebook Live conversation with the featured MCC faculty is planned for Friday, February 19 at 5:00pm.
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