Davidson College Art Galleries: 2025-2026 Year In Review + Looking Ahead!

VAN EVERY GALLERY
Studio Art Faculty: Explorations
Aug. 25 – Oct. 1, 2025

In the fall, we presented Explorations, celebrating the creative research of the art department’s studio art faculty, Joelle Dietrick (in collaboration with Owen Mundy), Luis Sahagún, Tyler Starr, and Katie St. Clair, whose practices span a wide range of media, methods, and concepts. As working artists and educators, each contributes to the academic life of the college as well as to the field of contemporary art through their investigations, both in their studios as well as through exhibitions, workshops, lectures, and more. The works on view offered a glimpse into their ongoing personal explorations, depicting rigor and innovation.

Learn more about Explorations and view the exhibition here.

VAN EVERY/SMITH GALLERIES
Hank Willis Thomas: We The People
Oct. 10, 2025 – Feb. 1, 2026

We The People presented a selection of diverse works in various media by Hank Willis Thomas, offering a deeper look into the artist’s explorations of identity, history, and collective memory. Presented in conjunction with the dedication of With These Hands: A Memorial to the Enslaved and Exploited, the exhibition invites reflection on the ways Thomas’s broader practice connects to the themes embodied in the memorial.

Learn more about Thomas and view the virtual tour here.

VAN EVERY GALLERY
Alternative Medicine: Healing Remedies for Harmful Times
Feb. 11 – Apr. 12, 2026

The Van Every/Smith Galleries presented Alternative Medicine: Healing Remedies for Harmful Times, an exhibition co-curated by John Corso-Esquivel, Associate Professor of Art and Lia Rose Newman, director/curator of the Galleries and Adjunct Assistant Professor.

By playing with scale, multiplying and dividing forms, and rethinking pills, prescriptions, and healthcare environments, the artists reveal systems of power, value, and exclusion. The works in Alternative Medicine also inspire new narratives of healing—stories of hope, self-care, and community support. Looking beyond the prescription pad, the artists imagine slow, interdependent networks of care that seek to repair not only bodies, but also the relationships that bind us together.

Learn more about the exhibition and view the virtual tour here.

SMITH GALLERY
2026 Graduating Seniors
Mar. 2 – May 16, 2026

Continuing an annual rite of passage, graduating senior studio art majors held their week-long solo exhibitions in the Smith Gallery. This year's graduates were Courtney Sanders, Belle Mckissick Staley, Adele Oprica, Myree Kromer, Mary Claire Hendrick, and Mike Liu. 

Learn more and view virtual tours, artist talks, and more here.

The Van Every/Smith Galleries and the Davidson College Art Department presented the Herb Jackson Annual Student Art Exhibition. 

The exhibition highlighted more than 60 works produced during the academic year by both art majors and non art-majors at Davidson College. Works on view were selected by the studio art faculty and included drawings, paintings, sculptures, prints, digital art and more.

The exhibition is named in honor of Herb Jackson ’67 who taught at Davidson College for more than 40 years. The naming was made possible through the generosity of Kesler Woodward ’73 and his wife Dorli McWayne. Awards were selected and presented this year by Maya Brooks, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at the North Carolina Museum of Art (Raleigh and Winston-Salem).

Awards presented:
Juror’s Award, Best in Show: Kyle Berlage ’26, Unlocked
Juror’s Award, Sculpture: Emma McDonnell ’27, Strain
Juror’s Award, Digital: Mallory Kavanaugh ’26, Hurricane Lilies
Juror’s Award, Printmaking: Myree Kromer ’26, 29D
Juror’s Award, Painting: Daniel Chong ’28, Flimsy Branches
Juror’s Award, Drawing: Frankie Brusco ’26, Counting the Cost
Juror’s Award, Honorable Mention: Cara Richards ’28, Intermingle
Juror’s Award, Honorable Mention: Robert Lamar ’27, Royal Blue
Juror’s Award, Honorable Mention: Courtney Lassiter ’27, Planal Association
Viewer's Choice Award: Stella Ahlberg ’29, Dog

Art Around Campus

Free Digital Guide
Explore the Van Every/Smith Galleries and our art collection through our digital guide on Bloomberg Connects, a free arts and culture app. The mobile guide offers digital access to art, including our campus sculpture collection, interpreted by students, faculty, staff, and artists.

After downloading the Bloomberg App, search for or scroll to Van Every/Smith Galleries at Davidson College to plan your visit. While on campus, use the Bloomberg Connects QR codes or lookup numbers on artwork labels to learn more about various works on campus and in the Galleries. Don’t forget to bring your headphones so you don’t disturb other visitors!

Student Curated Exhibitions
Gallery interns curate temporary thematic exhibitions from the art collection for the Hamilton W. McKay Atrium in the E. Craig Wall Jr. Academic Center and Cunningham Theatre Building (building hours vary). Click here to browse previous student curated exhibitions on campus and learn about current works on campus.

Chambers Building
The Galleries continue to rotate collection works throughout the first floor hallways of Chambers Building. Take a stroll through the first floor for over 50 acquisitions including works by Catherine Opie, Shahzia Sikander, Ali Fitzgerald '04, Abelardo Morell, Nancy Baker, Romare Bearden, Marc Chagall, Barbara Morgan, and more.

Art in Offices
Gallery staff work to make the 4,400+ artworks in the permanent collection as accessible as possible by bringing them out of storage and into public view. The Art in Offices program helps turn the entire campus into a gallery by providing staff members with the special perk of selecting an artwork or two from the collection for display in their offices, common work spaces, and conference rooms.

Artworks are generally kept for 2-3 years, though staff members may request to keep their work of art for a few cycles. Follow this link to see the numerous works that form the ever-changing Art in Offices collection. Click here to borrow a work for your staff office on campus.

ArtMate
ArtMate is an art-lending program that allows students to borrow a work from the Galleries’ art collection for their residence hall room for the academic year. In 2025–2026, ArtMate expanded, yet again, offering artwork on loan to 125 students in 15 residence halls! Students lined up for more than two hours to participate! Thanks to the generosity of many, we will expand once again in 2026–2027, offering the program to 135 students in any residence hall on campus.
Click here to browse the ArtMate collection and read student blog posts about the program.

Programs

Dedication for With These Hands: A Memorial to the Enslaved and Exploited
On Oct. 23, 2025, the community gathered on Davidson College's campus to dedicate With These Hands: A Memorial to the Enslaved and Exploited, a collaboration between artist Hank Willis Thomas and global architecture firm Perkins&Will.

Click here to read more about the memorial and click here to read more about the dedication ceremony.

Click here to read more about Oak Row, newly opened as a museum, adjacent to the memorial, presenting an exhibition about the college's history.

Rudy Shepherd Induction Ceremony
In the spring, as part of our exhibition Alternative Medicine: Healing Remedies For Harmful Times, artist Rudy Shepherd installed Black Rock Negative Energy Absorber on the lawn of the Belk Visual Arts Center. As a part of the installation, Shepherd activated the work through a performance, turning on its healing powers and its ability to absorb negativity from the viewers. The performance included improvised music by Marcus Brathwaite, Mark Dixon, Shepherd, and Davidson faculty members Conner Singh VanderBeek and Jia Yi Lee.

Click here to read an article about the ceremony in an article in The Davidsonian.

This work is currently on view outside of the Katherine and Tom Belk Visual Arts Center. Keep scrolling to find more information about how to view this piece and other sculptures on campus.

Campus Collaborations
We hosted many programs in collaboration with other departments on campus. "Art, Mindfulness, and Community" were sessions that allowed participants to practice mindfulness in relation to art. These programs were hosted by Ivan Mayerhofer, Associate Chaplain for Buddhist Programs, Director of Davidson Meditation Initiative, and Coordinator of Interfaith Programs at Davidson College.

We also co-sponsored a film series called "Global Cinema Classics" with Prof. Jeff Jackson and the departments of English and Film, Media, and Digital Studies. Stay tuned for next year's series!

Dútα Bαhiisere Kus Ráˀhere (We Know Corn Together)
This academic year, we celebrated another exciting year of meaningful collaboration between the Catawba Nation, the Van Every/Smith Galleries, the College Farm, Sustainability Office, and the Departments of History and Biology. Public programs this year included a lunch-and-learn and woodblock printing workshop with artist Tom Farris(Cherokee Nation and Otoe-Missouria tribe), a book talk with ethnobotanist Dr. Robert Carter, and a lunch-and-learn and talk with Steve Sando, founder of Rancho Gordo, a specialty food company focused on growing and promoting heirloom and heritage beans, as well as grains and spices.

Click here to read more about the collaboration. 

Permanent Art Collection

New Acquisitions
This year, we added 68 artworks to our collection thanks to many generous donors and the Dr. Joan C. Huntley Art Acquisition Endowment. Find these newly added works here.

Browse the Collection of 4,400+ Works
The Galleries' Collection is available to peruse in person and online. Email to make an appointment, or browse the full collection online here. You can also check out one of our collection categories by media such as Drawing or by subject, such as Africana Studies.

Interested in donating a work to the Galleries?
We are interested in adding works in a variety of media to the collection, with a special interest in artworks that can be used for teaching in art history, studio art and other disciplines. For more details, contact Lia Newman.

ART 348: Purchasing Art for Davidson’s Galleries
During Spring 2026, 13 students had the opportunity to take ART 348: Purchasing Art for Davidson's Galleries, a course co-taught by Dr. Lyla Halsted, assistant professor of art, and Lia Rose Newman, director/curator of the Galleries and adjunct assistant professor. As a part of the class, students visited galleries in New York City to view possible artworks to add to the Davidson College collection. Students deliberated and ultimately selected the following pieces to add to the college's permanent art collection:

Chloe Chiasson
Girlfriend of Deborah's, 2024
Oil, paper, glitter, resin, plastic on shaped aluminum
37 x 24 x 2.25 in.

Sanaa Gateja
Afloat 2, 2022
Paperbeads on barkcloth
47 x 47 x 47 in.

Click here to browse other works that have been acquired through the Student Art Acquisition Fund.

Click here to access the video or watch the video below to learn more about the class, the selection process, and the newly acquired artwork. The video was created by students in this year's ART 348 class.

Art Collection Advisory Committee + Annual Art Trip
Davidson College Art Galleries' Art Collection Advisory Committee (ACAC) hosted another Spring Art Trip. Alums, families, and friends of the college joined Dr. Rose Stremlau, professor of history, and Lia Newman, director/curator of the Galleries, for a three-day excursion to Santa Fe, NM. Trip participants enjoyed exclusive tours led by prominent area-based curators, met artist Rose B. Simpson, and had the opportunity to see art spanning several centuries at some of the most dynamic institutions in the city, as well as visit the home and studio of Georgia O'Keeffe in Abiquiú.

Coming up next in the Galleries ...

SMITH GALLERY
ArtMate 2026

VAN EVERY GALLERY
50 Years Later: Davidson National Print and Drawing Competition
On View: Aug. 24 – Sept. 27, 2026
Opening reception: Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, 6–7:30 p.m.

Exhibiting artists: Paul Stephen Benjamin, Yoonhee Choi, Jillian Conrad, Maja Godlewska, María Korol, Ambrin Ling, Jenene Nagy, Adrian Rhodes, and Sergio Suárez.

GALLERY HOURS 
Beginning Aug. 24, 2026
Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Wednesdays, until 7 p.m.
Weekends, Noon – 4 p.m.
The Galleries are closed during college holidays/breaks. Check the homepage of our website for updates.

SCULPTURE GARDEN
Visit sculptures sited in Richardson Plaza and throughout campus, from dawn to dusk daily. Maps are available online.

PARKING
Guest parking is available in the lot behind the Belk Visual Arts Center (VAC). The building is wheelchair accessible. All programs of the Van Every/Smith Galleries are free and everyone is welcome.

CONTACT
Lia Rose Newman, Director/Curator
Marisa J. Pascucci, Gallery & Collection Coordinator
Van Every/Smith Galleries
Davidson College
Mailing Address: 209 Ridge Road, Box 5000, Davidson, NC 28035
Physical Location: 315 North Main Street, Davidson, NC 28035
www.davidsoncollegeartgalleries.org