Brenau University

by Charity Armstead We are currently at work in the historic collection expanding into additional storage space and continuing an inventory of the collection. As we work to digitize all the old paper records from the collection, we are uncovering gorgeous pieces. The oldest piece that we’ve located in the collection so far is this […]

by Nichole Ferguson When you think of Brenau Galleries, you may think of our three rotating exhibition spaces on the historic Gainesville campus. These galleries — Sellars, Presidents and Castelli — host public art exhibitions throughout the year. Sometimes these shows are curated from our Permanent Art Collection, but more typically they feature artwork on loan […]

by Claudia Wilburn The Center for the Arts & Design would like to welcome Andrea Skillings to the team as a new assistant professor of fashion. Skillings has rich experience in merchandising and product development that is backed by a Master of Arts in Decorative Arts and Design from Parsons School of Design in The New […]

 by Jill DeMarotta This summer, six Brenau University interior design majors interned at professional interior design firms across the greater Atlanta area, working at least 180 hours with their respective firms.  The internships were a great way for the students to observe professional practices in a particular design specialization, including residential, hospitality, commercial, retail and health […]

by Dr. Barbara Steinhaus The opening of fall 2021 classes in the Department of Music allows for a bit of reflection and a look ahead.  This past summer, Ashley Conway, director of ensembles and coordinator of music education, was a speaker at the American Choral Directors Association conference, a combined virtual event for participants in Maryland, Washington, D.C., […]

by Madia Cooper-Ashirifi Despite the many challenges of the past year, Brenau University’s Department of Dance has continued to think big. As live performances across the country dwindled, the department forged ahead, progressively rethinking performances and collaborations with the Gainesville community to support and showcase Brenau’s dance majors. The dance faculty concluded that the pandemic […]

by Huy Chu and Claudia Wilburn In February 2021, the Center for the Arts & Design hosted Tiger Toons, a virtual learning experience that included interviews with several members of the professional animation community. On the heels of that successful event, the Brenau University Art & Design Department acquired new industry standard animation software, Storyboard […]

Howardena Pindell is an American mixed media artist and painter trained at Boston and Yale universities. She is known for exploring processes through her artmaking, utilizing unique textures, colors and compositional structures across her media. Much of Pindell’s work is political, addressing racism, feminism, slavery and exploitation. In 1972, Pindell co-founded the first artist-directed gallery […]

Music studies have been a formal part of the curriculum at Brenau since Brenau College Conservatory was established as two separate institutions: a college for the education of women and a conservatory of music, art, oratory and “kindred subjects” in 1906. Following a devastating tornado in 1936, Brenau College and the conservatory merged, allowing for […]

by Polly Evans-Thomas The annual Brenau University student fashion show, hosted by the Center for the Arts & Design, returned in 2021 with collections from current students and recent graduates. The show was filmed over a week and was presented during the Brenau Collaborative in April. CAD hopes to bring audiences back for the 2022 […]

by Nichole Ferguson This spring, the Brenau University Galleries embarked on a new programming adventure: Instagram Live. COVID-19 brought many challenges and pivots for the 2020-2021 exhibition season, and one thing that developed to support remote community engagement was a Brenau Galleries Instagram account. With over 650 followers at the time of writing, the Instagram […]

by Michael Lowe The Brenau University Department of Dance presented a virtual senior thesis, faculty and guest artist concert April 8-10. The event, Panorama, featured nightly performances streamed live from Brenau’s Pearce Auditorium on YouTube and Facebook.  The concert showcased performances choreographed by Brenau seniors Shania McAmis, Gracie Metcalf, Lauren Rathmann and Dejah Williams, as […]

Brenau University recently announced the addition of its Music and Dance departments to the Center for the Arts & Design, an interdisciplinary initiative promoting the university’s highly regarded art and design programs through student-centered education and community outreach. CAD launched in spring 2018 as a collaboration of Brenau’s Art & Design Department — which includes […]

With the spring semester winding down, the Brenau University community gathered virtually on Thursday, April 22, for the annual Brenau Collaborative, highlighting the art, design and fashion work of talented students and recent graduates. This year’s event, hosted by Brenau’s Center for the Arts & Design in an online format after being postponed in 2020, […]

On Nov. 6, Brenau’s Center for the Arts & Design offered students and community members an opportunity to explore and find inspiration in the diverse archives of the Sketchbook Project, the world’s largest library of artist’s sketchbooks. Ellie Botoman, coordinator of the Brooklyn Art Library, shared the history of the Sketchbook Project, the benefits of […]

Brenau University’s celebration of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and Black History Month continues this February with several events, activities and resources highlighting the impact of King and the Civil Rights Movement. “Now more than ever, Dr. King’s example of ‘unarmed truth and unconditional love’ needs to be widely celebrated,” said Jim Eck, provost […]

by Hope Vigil-Shuck In the fall of my senior year, I was able to spend the semester experimenting with and perfecting the process of cyanotype printing. I spent the beginning of the semester researching cyanotype because I had never read about — much less utilized — the technique. I focused on the different ways cyan-blue […]

Michael Lowe Nearly 50 Brenau students and guests tuned in on Feb. 17 for the Center for the Arts & Design’s virtual Tiger Toons event, which featured a panel of industry leaders who offered career advice and insights into the world of animation. The second installment of CAD’s biennial animation festival included speakers from companies […]

In March of 2020, Brenau Galleries launched their first-ever virtual exhibitions in response to COVID-19. Currently, three online galleries are available for viewing: L.A. Stories, Charles Webster Hawthorne and House and Universe: Margaret Evangeline. In a few short weeks, (Her)story and Person, Place, Thing, both of which showcase women artists in the Brenau University Permanent […]

Kendy Manzano is a spring 2020 graduate of Brenau’s Fashion Design department. For her senior capstone project, Kendy designed a bridal collection oriented toward a bride who craves a bold and elegant look on her wedding day. She chose two looks from her collection to construct down to the smallest details. In the student perspective […]