After being closed for nearly two years by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kentucky Folk Art Center (KFAC) is reopening to the public with the exhibit "Fine Folk: Works by Rebecca Miller Campell, Ron Gevedon, Sam McKinney, Pam Oldfield Meade, and Kopana Terry," running through June 1. The show features photography, sculpture, painting, and textile arts and more than 100 works will be on display.
Julia Finch, professor of art and interim director of KFAC, said the artists featured in the show expressed interest in doing a group show before the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020.
“We decided to title the show ‘Fine Folk’ because their work straddles the line between fine art and folk art. Specifically, the group of artists and I are interested in what happens when we suspend the conflict between ‘fine’ and ‘folk’ art and create a space where trained and self-taught artists and their work are presented and celebrated equally.”
An artists' reception for the exhibit will be held Tuesday, May 3, from 5-7 p.m. Refreshments will be served, and visitors will have a chance to meet the artists featured in the exhibit. The event is free and open to the public.
"We are so thrilled to welcome new visitors and old friends back to Kentucky Folk Art Center. People should come to see Fine Folk because these artists are local community arts leaders with connections to Rowan and Morgan Counties. You may see someone or something you recognize in the works," Finch said.
Items from the center’s permanent collection are also on display on the first floor and the gift shop will be open. There are also two mini exhibitions on display. In the Jimmie Ruth Auditorium, there is work by MSU alumna Kaylee Thornsberry, whose reworked photographs draw upon her family's history in the region. In the space near the elevator, there is art by Kentucky folk artist Jo Neace Krause, who passed away in March 2022.
To learn more about KFAC, visit www.moreheadstate.edu/kfac, email kfac@moreheadstate.edu or call 606-783-2204. To show your support for KFAC or to become a member, visit alumni.moreheadstate.edu/kfacmember.