Upcoming Exhibitions

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Fall 2023

August 28 - October 13
Tokie Rome-Taylor: Reclamations
Public Artist Lecture: September 19, 6 p.m., AD120
Reception/Gallery Talk: September 20, noon-1:30 p.m., The New Gallery
First Thursday Art Walk: September 7, 5-7:30 p.m.
First Thursday Art Walk: October 5, 5-7:30 p.m.

Questions that stem from ethnographic and historical research that probe material, spiritual, and familial culture of ancestral descents of southern slaves are entry points for Tokie Rome-Taylor to build symbolic elements that communicate a visual language within her work. Rome-Taylor's work positions Black bodies in a space that leans into the past, reaching back to address the erasure of worth in how Black bodies are perceived and represented. These traditions that we were able to preserve - such as the passing down of objects, making offerings to ancestors, and the use of material objects as spiritual devices - allow the resurrection of power and autonomy once denied. Rome-Taylor's work stands in direct defiance of that erasure. Denied access to traditional materials and practice in the Americas, a creolization of symbolic elements of European status and wealth have been utilized to visually connect to ancestral practice of adornment and spirituality. Rome-Taylor makes no attempt to recreate the past, rather to create images that combine elevation and connection to diasporic practice. They stand strong, weaving together adopted western trappings of wealth and status with symbolic representations of their cultural, historical, and spiritual connections.

Photographer and Georgia native, Tokie Rome-Taylor, focuses on the notion that perception of self and belonging begins in childhood. Children are the subjects she centers within her works, with a focus on representing a visual elevation that had been omitted from mainstream "western art history". Her works have a painterly aesthetic, using both digital and analog image making techniques. She often incorporates multiple mediums, including embroidery, pigments, beading and wax. The resulting works challenge the viewer's expectation of what a photograph should look like.

Working in tandem with her centering of children, Rome-Taylor explores questions that stem from ethnographic and historical research. These questions probe material, spiritual, and familial culture of descents of southern slaves act as entry points for Tokie Rome-Taylor to build symbolic elements that communicate a visual language. The sitters' family heirlooms, and recollections of family history, are combined with the historical research about the lives of Africans brought to the Americas.The research centers on their material culture, spiritual practice, and traditions. These have all been used to create a visual language that speaks to our shared history. Children and their family heirlooms, the real or imagined histories of these children's families and their ancestors all collide to spark conversation around material wealth, familial and cultural traditions of African Americans in the South.

Rome-Taylor’s work is held in multiple private and institutional collections including the MOCA GA, The Fralin Museum at UVA, and the Southeastern Museum of Photography. She has an extensive national and international exhibition record including the Atlanta Contemporary, the Fralin Museum, The Southeastern Museum of Photography, The Griffin Museum of Photography, SP-Foto SP-Arte Fair in São Paulo, Brazil, and the Zuckerman Museum of Art, amongst others.

October 30 - December 8
Elisa Harkins: Teach Me a Song
Public Artist Lecture: November 14, 6 p.m., AD120
Public Performance: Wampum / ᎠᏕᎳ ᏗᎦᎫᏗ: November 15, 6 p.m., Trahern Black Box Theatre. A talk-back will follow performance.
First Thursday Art Walk: November 2, 5-7:30 p.m.
First Thursday Art Walk: December 7, 5-7:30 p.m.

Titled after Eliza Harkins' ongoing project, Teach Me a Song - where the artist asks Indigenous friends to teach her a song - this exhibition combines video, found object sculptures, and screenprinted score notations further sharing the songs along with her Muscogee (Creek) and other Indigenous traditions.  

Wampum / ᎠᏕᎳ ᏗᎦᎫᏗ is an ongoing project where Elisa Harkins sings in a combination of Cherokee, English, and Muscogee (Creek) to electronic dance music, some of which is inspired by sheet music of Indigenous music notated by Daniel Chazanoff during the 20th century.

As an act of Indigenous Futurism, it combines disco and Indigenous language in an effort to alter the fate of these endangered languages through active use, preservation on pressed vinyl, and radio play.

The performance of Wampum / ᎠᏕᎳ ᏗᎦᎫᏗ is referring to Wampum belts and Indigenous peacekeeping as well as the Cherokee use of wampum beads as currency.

ᎠᏕᎳ ᏗᎦᎫᏗ, pronounced a-de-la di-ga-gu-di can be translated to “money on a string”.

The intention of the Wampum / ᎠᏕᎳ ᏗᎦᎫᏗ performance is to create a metaphorical peacekeeping agreement that is between the people watching the piece, regardless of tribe or race.

Elisa Harkins is a Native American (Cherokee/Muscogee) artist and composer based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her work is concerned with translation, language preservation, and Indigenous musicology. Harkins uses the Cherokee and Mvskoke languages, electronic music, sculpture, and the body as her tools.  Harkins received a BA 

from Columbia College, Chicago and an MFA from CALARTS. She has since continued her education at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. She has exhibited her work at Crystal Bridges, documenta 14, The Hammer Museum, The Heard Museum, and Vancouver Art Gallery.  She created an online Indigenous concert series called 6 Moons, and 

published a CD of Creek/Seminole Hymns. She is also the DJ of Mvhayv Radio, an Indigenous radio show on 91.1FM in Tulsa, OK and 99.1FM in Indianapolis, IN.  Radio III / ᎦᏬᏂᏍᎩ ᏦᎢ is a dance performance that features music and choreography by Harkins.  With support from PICA and Western Front, songs from the performance have been collected into a limited edition double-LP which can be found on Harkins’ Bandcamp.  Harkins resides on the Muscogee (Creek) Reservation and is an enrolled member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

This exhibition is in collaboration with the Crisp Ellert Art Museum and the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art

Spring 2024

January 16 - February 2
Faculty Triennial
Reception/First Thursday Art Walk: February 2, 5 - 7 p.m., The New Gallery

The Faculty Triennial is an exhibition that showcases the work of our talented faculty that teach within the department of Art+Deisgn. All of our professors are also professional artists that exhibit their work in galleries and museums all over the globe so The New Gallery hosts this exhibition every three years to give the students and community an opportunity to view this work together in one space. This exhibition reflects the talent, craftsmanship and dialogue that we also expect of our students, and represents the variety of media that we teach here at APSU

February 19 – March 22
In Kyoung Chun: Shared Room
Public Artist Lecture: February 12, 6 p.m., AD120
Reception/Gallery Talk: February 13, noon-1:30 p.m., The New Gallery

InKyoung Chun’s current work depicts her personal and narrative spaces by arranging simple forms and familiar objects through painting and sculptures. Living in the United States as a South Korean immigrant has been challenging, so she creates spaces where positive energy arises. She needs to present spaces where intimacies are present. While creating these works, she attempts to achieve life's optimism and peace even in its troubled and isolated settings. She believes channeling discovery and recognizing sweetness in her everyday life is essential.

Chun's work is in the permanent collection of High Museum of Art, the City of Atlanta Mayors Office of Cultural Affairs, Fulton County Public Library of Atlanta and numerous private collections. Chun recently had solo exhibitions at HiLo Press of Atlanta and the Sumter County Gallery in South Carolina.  Chun’s public art has also received recognition; Rainbow Gateway: Saekdong, curated by Dash, was featured at the Peachtree Center Plaza in downtown Atlanta, and Blue Gate was featured at both Emory University of Atlanta and at Industrial City Square of Brooklyn. New York.

Born in Seoul, South Korea, In Kyoung Chun is a painter living in Atlanta, Georgia. 

April 8 – April 24
56th Annual Juried Student Exhibition, juror: TBD
Reception/Awards Night: April 24, 5 – 7:30p

This competitive juried show honors the Department of Art + Design's outstanding student artists for their hard work and creativity. The show is professionally juried from outside Austin Peay State University, emulating the practice of real-world art shows. The exhibition showcases the 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.