Kit Hall is looking forward to retirement at the end of the Spring 2019 semester, but that has not slowed her down in running the Bernice Coulter Templeton Art Studio as a team of one.
Hall, who has been teaching at Texas Wesleyan for over twenty years, says that she’s hoping the work she is putting in now at the Art Gallery will last long after she is gone and that more professors and students will come to enjoy the art.
“It takes a while for people to come over here,” Hall said, “but when they do, they always go, ‘Really? We have an Art Gallery? That is so cool!’”
The first exhibition in the Art Gallery was in 2017 by Texas Wesleyan Alumni George Grammer. At this time, Kit began teaching all of her classes upstairs, above the gallery, leaving the showroom floor open for students and faculty to come to admire the art, even while new masterpieces are being made above them.
“Last year we had four exhibitions, two in the fall and two in the spring,” Hall said. “This year we have six exhibitions, one for each month. We hope to get more and more people to come over here to look at the art and enjoy the speaker series, and hopefully just cross the street!”
Hall said that next spring there will be an exhibition featured from April 8 – May 2 including hundreds of 5”x7” cards with the word ‘Hope’ written on them covering the room. She hopes to get students from many different organizations and majors to help her install these cards, as while it will be a time-consuming project, she also believes the process is a piece of art.
“I want to get people that the word ‘hope’ is meaningful to them and the mission of their organization,” Hall said. “Just the process of putting this exhibition together will bring together a group of people that aren’t normally hanging out with each other.”
Another exhibit featured in the spring will be ‘Love Removal Machine’ by Lee Hill which will feature opposing mediums in an attempt to create visual conflict for the viewer. An artist talk where students can learn from the artist will be held on Thursday, January 24 during free period.
Additionally, there will be an exhibition from February 25-March 28 called ‘Silent Covenants’ featuring sculptures by artist Rebecca Boatman. The artist talk for this exhibit will be held on March 7 from 2-4 p.m.
Most of all, Hall hopes that the studio can continue to grow without her there to nurture it. She hopes that other departments and professors around Wesleyan will begin using the space for their own classes.
“I want classes to come over here and use this space as a teaching tool,” Hall said. “It’s here for the students more than anything else. You can use art for so many things; how do psychology and art go together? What about religion and art? Even business and art go together really well. Professors think they can’t get out of the classroom, and that is so wrong and unfortunate because the students would gain so much from being over here.”
The Bernice Coulter Templeton Art Studio is open Monday – Thursday from 10-3, with a new exhibit every month. The space has room for students to hang out and even a small coffee bar for those that want a hot drink while they examine the art. The first exhibit of Spring 2019 will be called ‘Love Removal Machine’ and will be on display from January 14 – February 7.
Amanda Roach 