Articles

The WVU School of Art & Design’s Digital Art and Animation program will host the 2026 West Virginia Mountaineer Short Film Festival (WVMSFF) from Thursday, March 5, to Sunday, March 8, at the WVU Canady Creative Arts Center. The festival presents cutting-edge short films, animations and digital media artworks by WVU students, regional filmmakers and artists from around the world.

The WVU School of Art and Design presents the 13th Annual Juried Student Exhibition in the Laura Mesaros Gallery at the WVU Canady Creative Arts Center now through Feb. 26. An awards reception will be held Feb. 19 at 5 p.m. in the Douglas O. Blaney Lobby.

Experimental film artist, animator and sculptor Janelle VanderKelen will give a lecture Wednesday, Jan. 28, at 5 p.m. to accompany her exhibit on display in the Paul Mesaros Gallery at the WVU Canady Creative Arts Center. After the talk, a reception will officially open VanderKelen’s exhibit, which features her films “Language Unknown” (2022), “A Valley Without Trees” (2021), “Niches” (2024) and “Vignettes” (2024).

The WVU Clay Club’s winter pottery sale will take place Dec. 12 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Douglas O. Blaney Lobby of the WVU Canady Creative Center. Proceeds from the sale benefit WVU Clay Club members and ceramics students, helping to pay for club activities, visiting artists, attendance to the annual National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) conference and even the Ceramics in China Study Abroad program.

The WVU School of Art and Design welcomes Ava Reynolds as the new manager of The Retail Lab. Reynolds brings a passion for fashion and community to the student-run consignment and artisan storefront on High Street.

Printmaking students in the WVU School of Art and Design had the opportunity to work alongside Ruth Lingen and Nina Dine from Pace Prints in New York and visiting artist Gamaliel Rodriguez, whose work is currently on display in the Art Museum of WVU in the exhibit “Topographies of Memory.”

Two recent graduates from the WVU School of Art and Design’s Art Education program were recognized in October by their state’s art education associations for excellence in teaching. Elaina DePetro (Master of Arts in Arts Education, Class of 2024) was awarded High School Art Teacher of the Year by the West Virginia Art Education Association, and Lily Buckley (Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education, Class of 2024) was named New Art Teacher of the Year by the N.C. Art Education Association.

Renowned textile artist Liz Collins recently spoke to West Virginia University students and staff, as well as members of the public, about her life’s journey through art, fashion and textiles.

The West Virginia University School of Art and Design will celebrate the official grand opening of The Retail Lab on Friday, September 12, at 6 p.m. during Arts Walk.

New designs dazzled on the Canady Creative Arts Center’s Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre stage, as WVU Fashion Design and Merchandising (FDM) students took their final bow of the 2024-2025 academic year.