University of Tennessee School of Art

08/25/2026

We’re proud to celebrate UT School of Art BFA ’01 alum Justin Randolph Thompson and the premiere of his new work, Surveying Gravity: A Mirror for Growing Contradictions.

Supported by a 2022 Creative Capital Award, the performance-based installation explores the legacy of Thompson’s grandfather, Randolph Bromery, a pioneering advocate for Black Studies. Recreating Bromery’s basement as a space for listening, gathering, playing pool, and encountering archival materials, Surveying Gravity engages legacy and memory as an active practice.

Surveying Gravity: A Mirror for Growing Contradictions premieres September 10, 2026, at Augusta Savage Gallery in Amherst, Massachusetts, and will be on view through September 25.

Congratulations to Justin on this new work!

Justin Randolph Thompson’s (2022 Creative Capital Awardee) performance-based installation Surveying Gravity: A Mirror for Growing Contradictions is an exploration of the legacy of his grandfather, pioneering advocate for Black Studies Randolph Bromery. The installation was born out of Thompson’s...

08/25/2026

The UTK School of Art is pleased to share that Lovelight: The Art of Beauford Delaney by Associate Professor of Art History Mary Campbell, forthcoming from Princeton University Press in 2027, is now available for pre-order.

Lovelight explores the development of Delaney’s art from his early days in Appalachia through his final years in France. Drawing on extensive archival research, rarely seen images, interviews with Delaney’s friends, and the painter’s own writings, Campbell gives a moving account of an artist whose work ranks among the great achievements of twentieth-century modernism.

Mary Campbell is an associate professor of American art history at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She is the author of Charles Ellis Johnson and the Erotic Mormon Image (The University of Chicago Press, 2016).

Princeton University Press Pre-Order: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691275024/lovelight

Amazon Pre-Order: https://a.co/d/042uiCdu

08/17/2026

Congratulations to UT School of Art alum Lauren Farkas, who is featured in Hyperallergic for her inventive mapping practice transforming Knoxville's art scene into works of art. Farkas earned both a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master's in art education at UT. Read more here:

Three years ago, Lauren Farkas sketched a plan to see exhibitions during the city’s monthly art walk. Now, she crafts eclectic maps for each event to make the art scene more accessible.

08/10/2026

Congratulations to School of Art faculty members Kelli Wood and Paul Harrill, who have been selected for the University of Tennessee’s inaugural Ascent Program for the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.

Wood, Dale G. Cleaver Assistant Professor of Art History, will develop a major scholarly book on the art of early modern Goa, India.

Harrill, Professor and Dee & Jimmy Haslam Chair in Cinema Studies, will develop a feature-length narrative film.

We’re proud to see their ambitious scholarship and creative work recognized and supported through this university initiative. Learn more about their projects and the Ascent Program in the article below:

The Ascent initiative at the University of Tennessee supports projects in music, architecture, art history, archaeology and film.

08/06/2026

In a new interview with RetroFuturista, UT School of Art Professor Koichi Yamamoto reflects on repetition, registration, experimentation, and discovery in his printmaking practice. Read the full conversation:

Printmaker Koichi Yamamoto on copper engraving, kite installations, gyotaku memory, and why resistance shapes every impression he makes.

07/24/2026

What happens when an artist spends a residency inside a veterinary school? Professor Emily Bivens is finding out as LSU Vet Med's fifth artist-in-residence — and unveiling new work August 7 in Baton Rouge. Exhibition + artist talk, 5–7 p.m., LSU Vet Med Library. Free and open to all. 🎨🐾

🔗 Read more about Emily's time at the residency on LSU's website: https://www.lsu.edu/vetmed/blog/2026/artist_in_residence_bivens_exhibition.php

06/19/2026

🎓 🧡MFA Graduate Spotlight: 🎓 🧡

Nyssa Collins is an interdisciplinary artist based in Knoxville, TN. She makes shadow puppet epics about deep time and technology, experimental animations about the elusive nature of being, and giant critters made from rubbish for public art commissions and absurd/heartfelt collaborations with friends.

Her works often draw from early 20th century technology, film history, and psychedelia. She is inspired by the great mysteries that have driven and eluded human inquiry for time immemorial, and get courage from thinkers who ask recklessly big questions like: how did the modern world come to be?, and, what does it mean to have consciousness? She often return to art forms like stop motion, puppets, diorama, cross sections, and simple machines that create receptive, imaginative experiences for herself and audiences, and help us think a bit about how the world works.

Watch the video to hear Nyssa chat about her thesis exhibition work and three years at UT, and learn more about our MFA (apps open August 1!) at the link in our bio.

06/12/2026

🎓 🧡MFA Graduate Spotlight: 🎓 🧡

Shannon Ferguson is a printmaker and interdisciplinary artist whose work investigates the search for physical and emotional comfort as a person living with chronic pain. She creates spaces for dialogue around invisible illness and accessibility, combining traditional print and textile-based practices.

Originally from Fairview, Texas, Ferguson earned her BFA in Studio Art from Syracuse University in 2020, graduating Summa Cum Laude. Her honors thesis, Art and the Sensorium, was supported by a Syracuse Creative Works Research Grant. She has been an artist-in-residence in Navasota, Texas, and has exhibited nationally in juried shows including The Contemporary Print (Austin, TX), Best of Tennessee Craft 2024 Biennial (Gatlinburg, TN), and Impressions in Ink (Sebastopol, CA).

Her animated short The Places You Go (2024) has screened at Knox Film Fest, Bratislava International Film Awards, and New York Short Animation Festival. She has presented her research and work at the 2024 SGCI Conference in Providence, Rhode Island, and SECAC in Atlanta, Georgia.

Scroll through the slides to read what Shannon had to say about her time in UT's Printmaking program, and learn more about our MFA (apps open August 1!) at the link in our bio.

06/08/2026

We're so grateful for all the Wordens have done to support our printmaking program and Knoxville's art community.

Stuart Worden (’54) left his mark on campus as president of UT Pep Club. The Volunteer spirit has carried him into a lifetime of service to Knoxville.

06/05/2026

🎓 🧡MFA Graduate Spotlight: 🎓 🧡

Kai Mote is a recent graduate of the SOA’s MFA program with a Time-Based Art Concentration. He graduated from Bard College in 2016 with a B.A. in Studio Arts and Art History. In 2017 he cofounded the Brooklyn-based artist collective Hidden Currencies alongside Duncan Figurski, Mica Matchen, and Rebecca Walden. He was the Gallery Manager for Johannes Vogt Gallery from 2017 until the pandemic, and served as Gallery 1010 Director from 2025-2026. He has exhibited in Red Hook, NY, New York, NY, Nashville, TN, and Knoxville, TN.

Watch the video to hear Kai chat about his thesis exhibition work and three years at UT, and learn more about our MFA (apps open August 1!) at the link in our bio.