Work by MTSU art students is part of a new “Fall/Winter Exhibition” open weekdays through Friday, Jan. 2, at the Murfree Art Gallery, located in the Rutherford County Office Building just off the Murfreesboro Public Square.

MTSU art student Holly Hagan’s oil on panel work, “Ninety,” above left, and Kandace Lovett’s oil painting on board, “Memory,” above right, are part of the “Fall/Winter Exhibition” underway through Jan. 2 at the Murfree Gallery in downtown Murfreesboro.

The MTSU Department of Art is continuing its community collaboration with the Murfree Gallery, which opened last year in the lobby and antechamber of the property assessor’s office on the second floor of the County Office Building, 319 N. Maple St.

This new exhibit in the gallery features artwork by MTSU students Kandace Lovett, Holly Hagan, Chloe Campbell, Kari Owen, Erin Potter, Kyle Baker, Jenn Tipton, Monica Kay, Katie Mullins and Sarah Al-Ansari. A parallel exhibit in another area of the gallery showcases work by Murfreesboro artist Diane Stockard.

The Murfree Gallery exhibition will be open to the public during the regular County Office Building hours, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. There is no admission charge.

Members of MTSU’s Student Gallery Committee also earned more professional experience in gallery curation, installation and display for this public exhibit.

Those committee members include Erin Porter, Kelsey Rogers, Rachael Smith, Angelica Bennett, Joseph Blackmon, Kristin Denny, Amber M. Lancaster, Maija Champion, Jane Kim, Rickie Le, Brittnay Moses, Melody Tang, Erin Potter, Travis Washington, Russel White, Erin Aliquo, Robert Brzozowski, Amber Lelli and Mika Mollenkopf.

“Our opportunities with the Murfree Gallery have been multi-tiered,” said MTSU’s Eric Snyder, director of the university’s Todd Art Gallery and chair of the Murfreesboro City Hall Art Committee.

MTSU art student Jasmine Gary’s acrylic work, “Unholy Mother of Pearls,” is part of the “Fall/Winter Exhibition” at the Murfree Gallery.

MTSU art student Chloe Campbell’s oil on wood, “Tangled,” is part of the “Fall/Winter Exhibition” at the Murfree Gallery.

“We set up our Student Gallery Committee a couple of years ago when we opened up our main Todd Art Gallery site. Working with the Murfree Gallery has led to them working with local artists, as well as MTSU students, to curate more gallery exhibits.

“For our faculty and students, the Murfree Gallery is a place to participate in an off-campus location where the public can readily see their work. It’s expected of our students, particularly by our studio art faculty, that each student be involved in exhibitions and presentations that gets their work out there to be seen.”

The Murfree Gallery is named for the family of Revolutionary War hero Col. Hardy Murfree, for whom the city of Murfreesboro was renamed in 1811. The facility formally opened in November 2013 with an inaugural exhibit by MTSU art students and local artists.

The MTSU Department of Art, through the Todd Art Gallery, collaborated with county Property Assessor Rob Mitchell to regularly feature exhibits in the new Murfree Gallery.

For more information on the Murfree Gallery, contact Mitchell at assessor@rutherfordcounty.org or 615-898-7750.

For more information on MTSU’s Todd Art Gallery, visit www.mtsu.edu/art or contact director Snyder at eric.snyder@mtsu.edu or 615-898-5653.

— Gina E. Fann (gina.fann@mtsu.edu)