UA Dept. of Art and Art History

DEADLINE EXTENDED!

Join the Art & Art History Team!

The UA Department of Art & Art History has extended its search for a full-time arts technician. This position is ideal for recent graduates interested in supporting the department’s instruction and studio operations.

The role’s responsibilities include:
-Assisting UA students enrolled in studio art classes
-Maintaining, repairing, or building equipment and parts
-Managing purchasing
-Training and/or supervising student employees

Strong candidates will demonstrate experience in woodworking and/or metalworking and be comfortable working in an active shop environment.

Sound right for you? Find the full job description and apply by July 31 here: https://careers.ua.edu/jobs/arts-technician-529811-tuscaloosa-alabama-united-states

UA ART CAMP: Registration closes soon!

We’re less than one month away from UA Art Camp 2026! Our program is open to Alabama high schoolers (rising freshmen to seniors) at all levels of visual art experience. Camp runs 9:30-12:30 from June 22-26, 2026.

In 2025, students in our Woodworking class learned both woodturning and sculptural fabrication while using the tools and equipment in the UA woodshop.
Using lathes and dimensional lumber, our students made bowls, cups, and a giant peacock!

Through five on-campus morning sessions, campers explore their creativity within a cohort of fellow student artists. Camp tuition for 2026 is $250: an all-in cost which includes supplies, the 2026 UA Art Camp t-shirt, and a catered meal at this year’s closing reception.

Registration closes June 7! Visit https://art.ua.edu/ua-artcamp/ to view our six classes and secure a spot for the artist in your life!

MAJOR NEWS: Allison Grant is a 2026 Guggenheim Fellow!

Congratulations to Associate Professor Allison Grant for earning a 2026 Guggenheim Fellowship! Grant was one of 19 photographers and the sole UA faculty member named to the 101st class of Fellows.

Since its founding in 1925, the Guggenheim Foundation has honored talented mid-career scholars and artists across a variety of fields. From a highly-competitive pool of nearly 5,000 applicants in 2026, the foundation selected 223 Fellows based on both “prior career achievement and exceptional promise.”

Grant will use her fellowship to pursue a photography project titled “Holding Together.” A response to the “grim reality” of the post-Roe era, “Holding Together” is a photography series that features “women and individuals with uteruses [holding] botanicals historically used in reproductive care.”

Department chair Jason Guynes called Grant’s achievement an “extraordinary and well-deserved honor.” Read more about Grant’s historic achievement at the link in our bio! 

Image two and three:Allison Grant, Jigisha Holding Queen Anne’s Lace, 2024, Kristina Holding Queen Anne’s Lace, 2024, Archival inkjet print, 11 x 14 inches.

UA Art Camp is June 22-26!

The University of Alabama is proud to offer a week-long camp for high school artists. Since 2022, campers from across the Southeast have immersed themselves in ungraded, half-day studio classes that provide a taste of UA’s studio art courses.

Register the talented student in your life today at art.ua.edu/ua-artcamp! Course offerings for 2026 include:

-Ceramics
-Digital Animation
-Graphic Design
-Printmaking
-Woodworking
-World Cup of Architecture (New in 2026!)

Questions? Visit art.ua.edu/ua-artcamp!

UA Art Camp is grateful for support from The University of Alabama Department of Art & Art History, the UA Division of Community Affairs, and Alabama State Council on the Arts (Alabama Council on the Arts )

NEW THIS WEEK: See work by 24 talented faculty members!

The Sarah Moody Gallery of Art presents the Art & Art History 2026 Faculty Biennial Exhibition, an exhibition featuring work by the department’s professors and instructors, from January 15-February 20, 2026.

The public is invited to an opening reception TODAY, January 15, from 4-6 p.m. in 103 Garland Hall!

This year’s exhibition includes all professors of record:

Jonathan Cumberland
William Dooley
Alba Conejero I Gutierrez
Allison Grant
Jamey Grimes
Jason Guynes
Daisie Hoitsma-Young
Holland Hopson
Margaret Howton
John Klosterman
William Lawler
Wade MacDonald
Sarah Marshall
Bethany Moody
Celestia Morgan
John Prince
Pete Schulte
Debanjaly Sen
Pat Snow
Bryce Speed
Craig Wedderspoon
Charlotte Wegrzynowski
Tom Wegrzynowski
Melissa Yes

See a sample of work on display on our exhibition page: https://art.ua.edu/news/work-by-24-faculty-members-featured-in-smga-biennial/

Image credit:
Sarah Marshall, Swimming in My Thoughts, 2025, Screenprint, relief printing, cyanotype, natural and synthetic dyes and fabrics, machine and hand quilting, 54 x 27 inches.

Our first show of the year is here!

Check out FRAY, a solo exhibition of Troy professor Sara Dismukes, through February 26 at The University of Alabama Gallery. All are welcome to a reception with the artist on First Friday, February 6, from 5-7 p.m.

Sara Dismukes is an associate professor of design at Troy University, where she has been on the faculty since 2006. In addition to design work, she also maintains an active studio practice. She earned her BFA at Henderson State University and her MFA at East Carolina University.

Read Dismukes' artist statement and find out more about the department's upcoming shows in this month's Art Roundup: https://art.ua.edu/news/art-roundup-january-2026/

Image credit for slide two:
(dis)locate 3
cyanotype on paper
29” x 41”
2025
Image courtesy of the artist

BREAKING: Dr. Jennifer Feltman wins the Blackmon-Moody Outstanding Professor Award!

One of the most prestigious awards given annually by UA, the Blackmon-Moody Award acknowledges one faculty member's "distinctive, extraordinary or timely" research achievements. Dr. Feltman, an associate professor of Art History, has been recognized for her many contributions to the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris.

In the wake of the cathedral's devastating 2019 fire, the French government assembled a team of experts authorized to research on site during its renovation. Dr. Feltman was the only American researcher appointed to this historic team. Her run of publications, lectures, and media appearances have made her, in the words of one nominator, "a leading voice in the field of Medieval art."

“The Blackmon-Moody award confirms to me that the things I care about are things that others care about,” Feltman said in a UA News Center interview. “This gives me hope for the future of the arts and the humanities.”

Congratulations to our department's first Blackmon-Moody winner! Read more about Dr. Feltman's research here: https://art.ua.edu/news/dr-jennifer-feltman-wins-uas-blackmon-moody-award/

The Sarah Moody Gallery of Art presents Bill Hall: Static Movement, an exhibition featuring the work of UA alum Bill Hall, from October 23-December 5, 2025.

The public is invited to a pair of events related to the exhibition on Thursday, October 23:

-An artist’s talk at 2:45 p.m. featuring a poetry reading by UA faculty member Sara Pirkle in Gorgas Library’s Yellowhammer Room

-An opening reception for Bill Hall: Static Movement from 4:30-6:00 p.m. in 103 Garland Hall

After receiving his BFA degree from the University of Alabama and MFA from University of Texas at Austin, Hall spent nearly 30 years as the Master Printer at Pace Prints, New York. He has refocused his technical expertise toward his own personal vision/direction. His work is represented by Momentum Gallery in Asheville, NC, near his home.

Also included in this exhibit are two artist’s books produced jointly by Hall, Sara Pirkle, and UA New College faculty member Amy Pirkle. We hope to see you Thursday!

You’re invited to the Art & Art History Bash @ Woods Quad!

All members of the UA community are encouraged to join the department THIS FRIDAY, September 19, from 1-4 p.m. for an afternoon of community, giveaways, and art appreciation!

Already a major? Want to learn more about our courses? Want a snack on a Friday afternoon? There’s something for everyone at the Art & Art History Bash!

Event activities include:
-A raffle for a 24x18 painting by Assistant Professor Tom Wegrzynowski

-Appearances and demos from student organizations like The Guild, Crimson Clay, UA Print Club, and the General Art Club

-A scavenger hunt with prizes like department swag and additional raffle entries

Come meet our professors, see our work, and find out what the Department of Art and Art History is all about!

UA’s Art Roundup is back!

The UA Department of Art & Art History is pleased to share a variety of exhibition openings around Tuscaloosa this week. This September, the work of UA students, alums, and other talented artists will be on display in on- and off-campus spaces.

Visit our new article for the full rundown of events: https://art.ua.edu/news/art-roundup-september-4-5-2025/

We hope to see you out on the town!

Image one: Courtesy of Jeff Robinson.

Image two: John Buck (American, b.1946), The Collector, 1982-83, Wood, wire, ceramic, 72 x 19 ½ x 4 ½ inches. Gift of Morgan Family Estate.

Image three: Jürgen Tarrasch, APPROXIMATION, Acrylic on canvas, 2017, 70 x 50 inches. Image courtesy of the artist.

Image four: Showcard featuring Something, a recent work by Patricia Davis.

Image five: Image courtesy of Rose Kimbrough.