City art exhibit showcases MTSU professors’ work for women’s suffrage centennial

The work of five MTSU art professors is the focus of a celebration of the centennial of women’s suffrage in a new exhibit in Murfreesboro’s City Hall Rotunda.

Tuesday, Aug. 18, is the 100th anniversary of Tennessee legislators’ by-one-vote approval of the constitutional amendment giving American women the right to vote.

That narrow decision gave America the 36th state — and three-fourths majority — needed to ratify the 19th Amendment. The measure became law on Aug. 26, 1920.

The exhibit, “Patterns of Progress: Celebrating 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage,” is saluting this historic anniversary by showcasing the work of MTSU Department of Art and Design professors Erin Anfinson, Kimberly Dummons, Nicole Foran, Kathleen O’Connell and Sisavanh Phouthavong-Houghton.

The work of five MTSU Department of Art and Design faculty members is being showcased through Sept. 10 in a new art exhibit in Murfreesboro’s City Hall celebrating the centennial of women’s suffrage. “Patterns of Progress: Celebrating 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage” is free and open to the public. Click on the image to see a larger version.

“Patterns of Progress” will be on display through Sept. 10. The Rotunda is located at 111 W. Vine St. inside City Hall and open to the public weekdays, except for holidays, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

City safety protocols require appropriate social distancing and encourage face coverings for all visitors.

Organizers also released a virtual reception and exhibit tour with the artists on the city website, www.murfreesborotn.gov, as well as on City TV and the Murfreesboro government’s YouTube channel.

The event replaced a planned Aug. 14 in-person reception and tour scheduled during the Boro Art Crawl and is available above.

Erin Anfinson, professor, Department of Art and Design

Professor Erin Anfinson

Kimberly Dummons, associate professor, MTSU Department of Art and Design

Professor Kimberly Dummons

Anfinson teaches drawing, design and digital art courses in the art department’s foundations program. Her encaustic-infused paper works and animated films are often inspired by an interest in science, conservation, natural history, and narratives of ecosystems in flux.

Dummons, a sculptor and printmaker, also teaches in MTSU’s art foundations courses, focusing on two- and three-dimensional design. Her work is included in several collections, and one of her sculptures, “Buddy Bolden,” was commissioned by the city of New Orleans, and now stands in Louis Armstrong Park there.

Foran is an associate professor in MTSU’s art department and also serves as its chair. Her mixed-media artwork investigates memory, moral reasoning and identity.

Professor Nicole Foran

O’Connell, who teaches print media at MTSU, has studied printmaking, book arts, letterpress printing, paper making, sculpture and drawing.

Phouthavong-Houghton is a professor of painting at MTSU. Her current body of work is inspired by the nonprofit organization Legacies of War’s mission statement: “to raise awareness about the history of the Vietnam War-era bombing in Laos and advocate for the clearance of unexploded bombs.”

MTSU’s Department of Art and Design, which is part of the university’s College of Liberal Arts, offers undergraduate degree programs in art education, art history, visual arts, studio art and graphic design. It also regularly invites working artists to exhibit in the Todd Art Gallery, conduct workshops and lecture in classes.

Professor Kathleen O’Connell

Professor Sisavanh Phouthavong-Houghton

More information about Tennessee’s observance of the women’s suffrage centennial is available at https://tnwoman100.com.

For more information on this exhibit at Murfreesboro’s City Hall, contact Deb Hunter at 615-801-2606 or dhunter@murfreesborotn.gov.

For more information about MTSU’s Department of Art and Design, visit www.mtsu.edu/art. MTSU’s College of Liberal Arts website is www.mtsu.edu/liberalarts.

— Gina E. Fann (gina.fann@mtsu.edu)

“Vestiges (Silphium Laciniatum),” an encaustic, or hot wax, and paper painting created by MTSU art professor Erin Anfinson, is part of a new art exhibit celebrating the centennial of women’s suffrage, now underway in Murfreesboro’s City Hall Rotunda through Sept. 10. Anfinson is one of five artists showcased in the free public exhibit, “Patterns of Progress: Celebrating 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage.” (Image courtesy of the artist)

"Harvest Doorway," a monotype collage created by MTSU art professor Kimberly Dummons, is part of a new art exhibit celebrating the centennial of women's suffrage, now underway in Murfreesboro's City Hall Rotunda through Sept. 10. Dummons is one of five artists showcased in the free public exhibit, "Patterns of Progress: Celebrating 100 Years of Women's Suffrage." (Image courtesy of the artist)

“Harvest Doorway,” a monotype collage created by MTSU art professor Kimberly Dummons, is part of “Patterns of Progress: Celebrating 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage,” a new art exhibit underway in Murfreesboro’s City Hall Rotunda through Sept. 10. (Image courtesy of the artist)

"Red Raptor," a woodcut created by MTSU art professor Nicole Foran, is part of a new art exhibit celebrating the centennial of women's suffrage, now underway in Murfreesboro's City Hall Rotunda through Sept. 10. Foran, who also serves as chair of the university's Department of Art and Design, is one of five artists showcased in the free public exhibit, "Patterns of Progress: Celebrating 100 Years of Women's Suffrage." (Image courtesy of the artist)

“Red Raptor,” a woodcut created by MTSU art professor Nicole Foran, is part of “Patterns of Progress: Celebrating 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage,” a new art exhibit underway in Murfreesboro’s City Hall Rotunda through Sept. 10. (Image courtesy of the artist)

"Meditation: The Dreamer," a pressure-printed letterpress relief created by MTSU art professor Kathleen O’Connell, is part of a new art exhibit celebrating the centennial of women's suffrage, now underway in Murfreesboro's City Hall Rotunda through Sept. 10. O’Connell is one of five artists showcased in the free public exhibit, "Patterns of Progress: Celebrating 100 Years of Women's Suffrage." (Image courtesy of the artist)

“Meditation: The Dreamer,” a pressure-printed letterpress relief created by MTSU art professor Kathleen O’Connell, is part of “Patterns of Progress: Celebrating 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage,” a new art exhibit underway in Murfreesboro’s City Hall Rotunda through Sept. 10. (Image courtesy of the artist)

"Unstable," a watercolor painting created by MTSU art professor Sisavanh Phouthavong-Houghton, is part of a new art exhibit celebrating the centennial of women's suffrage, now underway in Murfreesboro's City Hall Rotunda through Sept. 10. Phouthavong-Houghton is one of five artists showcased in the free public exhibit, "Patterns of Progress: Celebrating 100 Years of Women's Suffrage." (Image courtesy of the artist)

“Unstable,” a watercolor painting created by MTSU art professor Sisavanh Phouthavong-Houghton, is part of “Patterns of Progress: Celebrating 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage,” a new art exhibit underway in Murfreesboro’s City Hall Rotunda through Sept. 10. (Image courtesy of the artist)