Florida State University Libraries is hosting its first student artist exhibition at the Dirac Science Library as part of the Art in the Library program.
The exhibit, titled “People I Know,” features a collection of recent paintings by William Rowe, a graduate student in the FSU Department of Art Education who earned a bachelor of fine arts from the university. Rowe is the first student selected to participate in the program.
“My paintings are snapshots of my home life, brief moments that are filtered through recollection and brushwork,” Rowe said. “Hopefully viewers can relate to either the subject of the portrait or to me, the artist, after considering the context of each piece.”
The Art in the Library program aims to bring more art into the libraries and to enrich the library environment as an aesthetic and academic space. It debuted in fall 2021 with an exhibit featuring prints by Karl Zerbe, a former professor of Art at FSU, on display in the Robert Manning Strozier Library.
“People I Know” is the start of a continued effort to bring art into the libraries’ spaces and further provide opportunities for FSU students to exhibit their work in a public space. The exhibit is currently on view at Dirac Science Library and will remain so throughout the fall semester.
Leah Sherman, visual and performing arts librarian and chair of Art in the Library, said: “Art in the Library at FSU Libraries is interested in and invested in bringing the visual and performing arts into the library environment to enrich the library experience for our visitors, to stimulate creative thought and practice among our researchers, and to engage the broader audience of the makers, creators and performers across our campus.”
The Art in the Library Committee seeks exhibition proposals for the spring 2023 semester. If you’re a student artist or group of artists interested in exhibiting at the libraries, visit this link to learn more and apply by Sept. 30, 2022.
For more information about FSU Libraries and the Art in the Library program, visit lib.fsu.edu. To read an interview with William Rowe on the FSU Libraries blog, visit fsulib.com/art-in-the-library-10-questions-with-william-rowe/.