MTSU Art professors Erin Anfinson, Kathleen O’Connell, Kimberly Dummons, Nicole Foran and Sisavanh Phouthanvong are featured in the City Hall rotunda, July 28-Sept. 10.
August 18, 2020, marks the 100 year anniversary of the passage of a woman’s right to vote. The City of Murfreesboro is hosting these 5 prominent female artists as part of a "Patterns of Progress " celebration of the historic anniversary.
Erin Anfinson is an Associate Professor of Art at Middle Tennessee State University where she teaches drawing, design, and digital art courses in the Foundations program. Her encaustic-infused paper works and animated films are often inspired by an interest in science, conservation, natural history, and narratives of ecosystems in flux. In addition to her creative work and research, she also regularly teaches mixed media encaustic workshops at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
Kathleen O’Connell is a tenured Associate Professor at MTSU where she teaches Print Media. Her education includes studies in printmaking, book arts, sculpture and drawing. She holds a BFA degree from SUNY Plattsburgh and MFA degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. O’Connell has travelled the world teaching and creating her art. Between 2014 and 2020, she volunteered with the College Book Art Association, serving as conference co-host (Nashville 2016), member of the Board of Directors (2016-2020), and as Vice President for Programming (2017-2020). She continues to make artwork, exhibit her artwork, collaborate, teach and travel.
Kimberly Dummons is an Associate Professor of Art and Design at MTSU. Originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, she earned her B.A. in Art from Xavier University of Louisiana, and her M.F.A. in Studio Art, with a Sculpture concentration, from the University of New Orleans.
Her work is included in several collections, and she has a public sculpture, commissioned by the City of New Orleans, Buddy Bolden, located in Louis Armstrong Park. Her work has been reviewed and published, both regionally and nationally, in various publications, including Sculpture magazine and Art Papers.
Nicole Foran is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Art and Design at MTSU. She earned her MFA from the University of Cincinnati. Her mixed-media artwork investigates memory, moral reasoning, and identity. Foran’s work is exhibited internationally and was recently featured in solo exhibitions at the Edward Whitney Center in Sheridan and Holy Family University in Philadelphia.
Sisavanh Phouthavong is a Professor of Painting in the Department of Art and Design at MTSU. She earned her B.F.A. from the University of Kansas and her M.F.A. from Southern Illinois University of Carbondale. Currently, her body of work is inspired by the non-profit organization Legacies of War mission statement: “to raise awareness about the history of the Vietnam War-era bombing in Laos and advocate for the clearance of unexploded bombs”. As a refugee/immigrant, the process of connecting and disconnecting with a place or community are abstracted ideas of migration. The collage and painting process is unpredictable and is an ongoing dialogue about assimilating and relocating into another culture and space. Her research has been funded numerous times by the Tennessee Arts Commission and the generous support of MTSU grants. She continues to give back to the refugee community by partnering with The Frist Art Museum Center for the Visual Arts’ Educator for Community Engagement, Oasis Center, and CRIT, Center for Refugees+Immigrants of Tennessee.
The Rotunda at Murfreesboro City Hall, 111 West Vine Street, is open to the public from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information contact Deb Hunter with Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation.