Annual student art exhibition is Feb. 27-March 17 at Lyon College Kresge Gallery, reception is March 2
BATESVILLE, Arkansas – The Lyon College Art department will celebrate and honor the artistic work of its outstanding student artists at its annual student art exhibition from Monday, Feb. 27, to Friday, March 17, in the Kresge Gallery in the Alphin Building on the Lyon College campus, 2300 Highland Rd., Batesville.
The winners of this juried exhibition will receive awards at a reception on Thursday, March 2, from 5-6:30 p.m. with the awards presentation at 5:30 p.m. The free event is open to the public.
The exhibition, which emulates the practice of real-world art shows, showcases the wide array of artwork produced by students during the past academic year and gives students the opportunity to participate in a professional exhibition where a qualified juror selects artwork and artistic merit awards, including the coveted Presidential Purchase Award. The show also will feature the work of professional artist Crystal Jennings of Pine Bluff, who will curate the show.
Primarily a graphite and charcoal artist, Jennings’ subject matter focuses on portraiture mixed with the imaginary. After nearly a decade of operating a hand-painted wedding stationery business, she is now concentrating on adding to and exhibiting her body of work. Recently, her work has been exhibited in Hot Springs, Little Rock, Pine Bluff and the Bradbury Art Museum at Arkansas State University. She has also toured Arkansas with the Arkansas Arts Council’s Small Works on Paper. She is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Art and Design.
For more information, please contact Lyon College Professor of Art and Kresge Gallery Director Dustyn Bork at Dustyn.Bork@lyon.edu.
Cathy Drew is a lifelong resident of the region that she loves to promote. She was born in downtown Batesville in the late ’60s, located in one of the eight counties she now enjoys encouraging people to visit.
Drew became associated with the Ozark Gateway Region in 1990 while working at the ad agency (The Media Market Inc.). The agency handled marketing for the regional association, where she and her co-workers produced an annual tabloid publication. She began working as the Ozark Gateway Region director in June 2000.
After Drew became director, she took the region to the next level by helping the tourism organization create a new website and moved it from the old newspaper paper tabloid publication to a color magazine format. She helped open a visitor center for the Ozark Gateway, allowing visitors to pick up information from the entire state 24/7. Over the years, Drew has helped the organization meet new marketing goals, such as in- and out-of-state marketing, assuring that all 100,000 copies of their magazines are distributed each year.
In 2016, she assisted in creating the first Ozark Gateway Region Golf Classic. The tournament continues to grow each year, allowing the organization to expand its co-op program and helping each county have dedicated promotion. Drew stays busy at Ozark Gateway as the ad sales manager, magazine editor, day-to-day office operations, trade show representative, and magazine distribution representative, all while ensuring that the region is represented all over Arkansas and southern Missouri.
Drew was featured in several local and statewide publications over the years, as well as the 1997 cover of the Ozark Gateway Region tabloid, along with her then 4-year-old son, Jon. She has received several awards, such as the Batesville Rotarian of the Year in 2010 and a three-time Paul Harris Fellow.
She also has served as an Independence County election commissioner for several years. She now serves as their co-election coordinator, helping with behind-the-scenes management of voting equipment, day-to-day election deadlines, and poll worker training.
Drew is Batesville Rotary Club Past President, and is the Rotary Clubs’ current membership chair.
In March of 2018, Drew was honored with induction into the Arkansas Tourism Hall of Fame for her many years of dedicated service to the tourism industry.