MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin is hosting its annual Bellwethers juried exhibition at the West Tennessee Regional Art Center in Humboldt.
The exhibition opened Oct. 20 and will be open through Friday, Nov. 14, when a closing reception and awards ceremony will be held.
Bellwethers is an exhibition of collegiate student art that has been hosted by UT Martin since 2000. The exhibition was begun by then-art department chair Doug Cook and the late Lane Last, former professor of graphic design.
The exhibition was originally called “Artists of the 21st Century,” but was renamed “Bellwethers” in 2017.
Students in colleges from Southern states including Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia will take part in the exhibition.
The exhibition will be juried by Lacy Mitcham, a professional artist and public programs coordinator at the Dickson Galley and Gardens in Memphis, who will use a blind juried process to select those she wants to be in the show.
UT Martin students are encouraged to take part in juried exhibitions in general as part of their requirements for their sophomore reviews and senior thesis reviews. Also, UT Martin has a gallery practicum class, where students learn how to curate and stage exhibitions, which they use the Bellwether exhibition as classwork.
Twelve UTM students have artworks in the exhibition.
The best-in-show award for the exhibition was named for Last in 2024. There will be a first-, second- and third-place award in two-dimensional and 3D art categories.
For more information about the Bellwethers juried exhibition, contact Clay Palmer, lecturer of art and director of the Center for Southern Art, at jpalme36@utm.edu or 731-881-7417.
Photo –– UT Martin art students work to set up the Bellwethers juried exhibition last week in the West Tennessee Regional Art Center in Humboldt. The exhibition draws student artists from colleges and universities across the South.