Art gallery to celebrate JMU’s centennial year

Gallery at Festival to open three JMU-themed exhibits

By Kelly Fisher, a&e editor
Posted on September 24, 2007

As JMU continues to observe its 100th anniversary, the Madison Art Gallery contributes to the celebration by letting visitors travel back in time and experience the university’s past through art.

The Gallery at Festival will unveil its Centennial Exhibit tonight, inviting the community to explore historical fashions and art through three different exhibits. Dr. Pamela Johnson, curator of the clothing exhibit, will speak at the opening about her work on “Dressing for Education.”

Months of planning and years of expertise were put into the unique exhibits in the collection.

“We wanted to find a clever way to celebrate 100 years of the university’s history,” said Kate Stevens, director of the Gallery at Festival.

The largest exhibit featured is “Dressing for Education.” With the help of Johnson and restorer Colleen Callahan, over a dozen outfits ranging from the ’20s to the ’60s are displayed. One special dress in the exhibit is a vintage ’20s wedding gown worn by former dean of women, Dorothy Garber.

Another exhibit featured in the gallery, called “The Madison Era,” focuses on art from and about the university’s namesake, James Madison. Documents containing signatures from when Madison was secretary of state and when he served as president are on display, as well as paintings depicting scenes from Madison’s lifetime.

“To ignore our namesake would be doing him a disservice,” Stevens said. “[Madison] contributed so much to U.S. and Virginia history, and now our history at JMU.”

A third exhibit “The Gift of Art,” displays artwork that has been donated to the Gallery from various friends of the university. The donated art ranges from local to global, with art from as far away as Ghana and Kenya on display.

“The exhibit is a great way to showcase the Harrisonburg community, as well as past and present professors and programs,” Stevens said of the diversity of the donated art.

The opening of the Centennial Exhibit takes place tonight from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. at the Gallery at Festival, room 2104.