Lyon College Kresge Gallery Kicks Off the Year with Christina Kerns Exhibit
BATESVILLE, Arkansas — Lyon College’s Kresge Gallery is kicking off the academic year with an exhibit by Christina Kerns, an innovative artist and associate professor of visual art at Lincoln University, Pennsylvania.
Kerns, a photographer who works with alternative printed materials, GIFs, net art and artist books, explores themes of individuality, the influence of the internet on the physical world, and archiving personal and cultural history.
Kerns received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography with a minor in art history from Pratt Institute and a Master of Fine Arts in interdisciplinary art from the University of Pennsylvania’s PennDesign. Her artistic practice is deeply influenced by concepts of ephemerality, permanence and decay, using a contemporary American photographic vernacular to investigate regional histories and the ways individuals archive personal identity and culture. Her work has been exhibited in New York, Philadelphia, London, Berlin, Australia and San Francisco.
“Travelling across the U.S. is a pivotal part of my practice,” Kerns explains. “I am fascinated by the aesthetic and social norms of small towns, particularly their local history and cultural centers operated by everyday people. The organizational systems used to present material culture in these institutions parallel the way familiar images are cataloged on social media.”
In “Beyond Violet,” open now through Sept. 20, Kerns employs lenticular technology (also known as moving pictures, wiggle pictures or tilt cards) to echo the duplexity of IRL or real life and an online experience.
A special artist reception and talk will take place on Thursday, Sept. 19, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Kresge Gallery, offering an opportunity to meet the artist and gain insight into her creative process.
The exhibition is free and open to the public. Kresge Gallery hours are Monday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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.