October 17, 2012 Media Contacts Michelle Harrell, (919) 664-6853, mharrell@ncartmuseum.org Emily Kotecki, (919) 664-6782, ekotecki@ncartmuseum.org

North Carolina Museum of Art College Exhibition Draws International Participation Collaborative work with East Carolina University to debut alongside major fall show

Raleigh, N.C.―The result of a recent collaboration between the North Carolina Museum of Art and East Carolina University will debut alongside the Museum’s fall exhibition of still-life masterpieces. The student exhibition, A Life, Still, features photography, video, printmaking, drawing, ceramics, textiles, and painting from college students responding to a set theme: reimagining still life.

Under the Iceberg: A Collaborative Process Museum educators collaborated with East Carolina University (ECU) faculty and students over 10 months through “Under the Iceberg,” a program designed to give students a hands-on experience of planning and curating an art museum exhibition. Students were selected from ECU's School of Art and Design to meet with a Museum educator on campus and twice at the Museum to learn about the work behind the Still-Life Masterpieces exhibition. These 12 students were then asked to apply their findings in creating their own exhibition. The development of A Life, Still included large- and small-scale projects, from deciding on the exhibition theme and marketing the call for submissions to selecting the final works and arranging them in a thoughtful visual narrative. Abigail Jones, a senior at ECU, notes the importance of their cumulative decisions: “Everything from writing the wall texts to judging the works of art to understanding the layout of the show affects how well and smoothly the exhibition process will run.”

Global Attention, Local Results The NCMA education team’s decision to host submissions through Tumblr, a free blogging platform, proved successful. In August alifestill.tumblr.com was featured as a top pick on tumblr’s site, garnering 20,000 followers for the exhibition blog. Original works of art were selected from more than 180 submissions from around the globe (172 two-dimensional, 12 video). Ultimately, the group decided to feature 23 2-D works and six video works in A Life, Still. The collection represents students from 21 universities, 13 states, and two continents. ECU senior Anna Hajjar took away a better understanding of the resources required to put on an exhibition, noting that she had never before considered spatial limitations and obstacles, museum aesthetics, and promotion when imagining the exhibition process. She notes, “It’s not just about finding artwork and nailing it on the wall.” For artist Kendall Temotio, a senior at ECU, the best part of the experience was “being on the other side of the table.” Temotio said, “Usually I’m the one submitting my work and waiting at home to hear the results. It was interesting to see how decisions are ultimately made. Now I can look at my own work when it is declined or accepted and better understand why or how the selections may have occurred.”

Visitor Information for A Life, Still October 21, 2012–January 13, 2013

Location A Life, Still is presented in the NCMA’s East Building, Gallery 3, Level B. Admission Free Museum Hours Tuesday–Thursday 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Friday 10 a.m.–9 p.m. Saturday–Sunday 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Media Resources alifestill.tumblr.com www.ncartmuseum.org/college www.facebook.com/ncmacollege www.twitter.com/ncmacollege

For a complete list of students involved in A Life, Still, see attached page. Image captions, from top Laura "Blue" Greene, Nature's Simple Pleasures, Randolph Community College Gus Frisbee, The Pivotal Moment in Which Paper Won the War, UNC–Asheville

### About the North Carolina Museum of Art The North Carolina Museum of Art’s permanent collection spans more than 5,000 years, from ancient Egypt to the present, making the institution one of the premier art museums in the south. The Museum’s collection provides educational, aesthetic, intellectual, and cultural experiences for the citizens of North Carolina and beyond. The 164-acre Museum Park showcases the connection between art and nature through site-specific works of environmental art. The Museum offers changing national touring exhibitions, classes, lectures, family activities, films, and concerts. The Museum opened West Building in 2010, home to the permanent collection. The North Carolina Museum of Art, Lawrence J. Wheeler, director, is located at 2110 Blue Ridge Road in Raleigh. It is the art museum of the State of North Carolina, Beverly Eaves Perdue, governor, and an agency of the Department of Cultural Resources, Linda A. Carlisle, secretary. Hours and Admission Admission to the Museum’s permanent collection and Museum Park is free. Museum hours are Tuesday–Thursday and Saturday–Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.; Closed Monday. For more information visit www.ncartmuseum.org.

Featured Participants in A Life, Still Museum educators, university faculty, and students from ECU collaborated over 10 months to plan, design, and promote a call for entries before jurying submitted works and presenting the final exhibition. Original works of art from the following students artists were selected from 182 submissions (172 two-dimensional, 12 video). The resulting collection represents the work of students from 21 universities, 13 states, and two continents. Selected Student Artists

• Joseph Amodei, UNC–Chapel Hill • Jaime Andrews, North Carolina State University • Noah David Bau, Rhode Island School of Design • Cameron S. Bolin, University of Tennessee • Marika Borgeson, Duke University • Malina Chavez, Duke University • Brendan Dacey, UNC-Chapel Hill • Zhenjie Dong, Savannah College of Art and Design • Magali Duzant, Parsons New School for Design • Gus Frisbee, UNC–Asheville • Laura “Blue” Greene, Randolph Community College • Avi Jacob, Maryland Institute College of Art • Danielle James, East Carolina University • Kathleen Claire Kennedy, Boston University • Erin Clare McNeil, Savannah College of Art and Design • Zachary Miley, Kansas City Art Institute • Katie Murray, East Carolina University • Paul Nissenbaum, East Carolina University • Camilla Quinn Oldenkamp, University of Nevada–Las Vegas • Allison Patton, East Carolina University • Andre Rain, Academy of Fine Arts, Bologna, Italy • Patricia Reis, North Carolina State University • Ben Schonberger, Cranbrook Academy of Art • Christine Shen, California Institute of the Arts • Damian Stamer, UNC–Chapel Hill • Weecho Velasquez, Texas A&M University • Genevieve Waller, University of Rochester • Raphael Warshaw, George Mason University • Michael Webster, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Participating Student Curators, East Carolina University

• Alisha Beard, BFA candidate in Studies in Visual Culture • Joshua Craig, MFA candidate in Metal Design • Ariana Davis-Tewksbury, BFA candidate in Photography • Kathryn Ervin, BFA candidate in Painting and Drawing • Anna Hajjar, BFA candidate in Art Education • Abigail Jones, BFA candidate in Painting and Drawing • Daniel Kennington, BFA candidate in Art Education and Studio Ceramics • Tina Lazzarine, MFA candidate in Metal Design • Kelsey Mintz, BFA candidate in Art Education and Textile Design • Kendall Temotio, BFA candidate in Metal Design • Brie Warrington, BFA candidate in Graphic Design