Everything Nac

Students in the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre will promote the SummerStage Festival’s children’s show at the Texas Blueberry Festival June 11 in downtown Nacogdoches.

Theatre students will appear in costumes portraying popular characters from fairy tales and children’s stories. Children (and adults) will have the opportunity to talk with the students and take photos with them, according to Angela Bacarisse, professor of design and arts management at SFA. The School of Theatre’s trademark dragon character, Schlaftnicht, from the children’s show “Trudi and the Minstrel,” performed the summer of 2005, will make his annual Blueberry Festival appearance.

“We have a lot of fun just dressing up and seeing how excited the kids are when they see us and get to talk to their favorite characters,” Bacarisse said.

Students will be promoting the upcoming SFA SummerStage Festival, which kicks off Friday, June 24, and runs through July 16. The family friendly festival will feature the children’s favorite “A Year With Frog and Toad” by Robert and Willie Reale. Also in the festival lineup is something for the adults, “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” a witty comedy by actor, screenwriter and stand-up comic Steve Martin.

Bacarisse, the director of the smash hit “Spamalot” and the summer kids’ favorites “The Emperor’s New Clothes: The Musical” and “How I Became a Pirate,” directs “A Year With Frog and Toad,” which is based on the books by Arnold Lobel. The musical follows the story of the beloved suburban amphibians who leap to tuneful life with irresistibly upbeat Frog lifting the spirits of his worrywart neighbor Toad.

The students perform at the Blueberry Festival each year to “let the community know that the SFA School of Theatre offers good quality family entertainment at affordable prices to our neighbors in Nacogdoches,” according to Bacarisse. Discount coupons for the SummerStage Festival will be distributed that day.

The costumed characters can be seen in front of The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House at 329 E. Main St. Theatre students will be selling crafts and doing face painting as a fundraiser.

For performance times and ticketing information for the SummerStage Festival, visit theatre.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS. All performances are in W.M. Turner Auditorium in the Griffith Fine Arts Building on the SFA campus.

The Friends of the Visual Arts at Stephen F. Austin State University have selected Plano junior Jacqueline Morales as this year’s recipient of the Gary Q. Frields Art Scholarship.

To be eligible for the Frields award, students must “demonstrate an exemplary work ethic, show versatility in the use of media and techniques in two or more areas, and show innovation and quality in their work,” according to the criteria established by Frields.

“I hope this scholarship allows students not to just become more informed but transformed into authentically original, creative, open-minded, charitable individuals who will give back to the community and inspire others in our field of study,” Frields said in 2013 when the scholarship was established.

Shaun Roberts, assistant professor of painting at SFA, nominated Morales for the award.

“Jacqueline has been my student for several semesters now, and she consistently shows characteristics that I feel qualifies her to be worthy of the Gary Q. Frields Scholarship,” Roberts wrote in his nomination letter.

“Jacqueline shows a wide range of understanding of the principles of art and isn’t afraid to experiment in multiple mediums, whether it be painting or digital,” he continued. “She understands that making quality artwork requires diligence and hard work. I often see her in the studios working outside of class time, which is a rarity among most students these days.”

Roberts described Morales as “intelligent, well-liked and respected by her peers, and an example for our students to emulate.” She is also involved in the SFA Art Alliance, the School of Art’s student organization.

The FVA has established scholarships in the name of retiring SFA art professors who were employed in the School of Art for minimum of 10 years before retirement and who contributed in a significant way to the mission of the Friends of the Visual Arts board and its fundraising activities, such as consistently donating art for fundraisers, by providing monetary assistance, or by serving on FVA committees or board.

Known among his peers as a great advocate for SFA’s art students, Frields taught courses in design, drawing and sculpture and served as graduate program coordinator for the School of Art before his retirement in 2012. He was a recipient of the SFA Fine Arts Teaching Excellence Award and was appointed to the board of directors for the Texas Association of Schools of Art. Frields’ involvement in national juried exhibitions helped in establishing the SFA Texas National, originating the concept, name and designing the logo. The event brings to Nacogdoches some of the most celebrated contemporary artists as jurors. He originated the Art Prom and was a founding member of The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House, creating the logo and contributing to concept planning.

The SFA Friends of the Visual Arts is made up of community members who support the arts in East Texas and provide monetary assistance to students enrolling in the School of Art by conducting fundraisers, such as the upcoming annual 12X12 event in July.

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art has announced that sophomore photography student Jacob Moffett of Cypress is this year’s recipient of the Robert Kinsell Art Scholarship, which was established and funded by the SFA Friends of the Visual Arts.

Elaine Bezold, visiting assistant professor of art in photography and digital media at SFA, recommended Moffett for the award.

“Jacob is a highly motivated and gifted student,” Bezold wrote in her nomination letter. “It is my first semester having Jacob in my Intro to Photographic Processes class, and I already look forward to his presence in future classes of mine.”

Moffett came to SFA with a fairly extensive knowledge of photography, but he continues to absorb the subject matter in class enthusiastically, Bezold said.

“He readily accepts and gives constructive comments in critique,” she said. “Jacob would be an excellent candidate for receiving a scholarship.”

The Kinsell scholarship was established to support the educational goals of students currently enrolled in the SFA School of Art by providing financial assistance to outstanding students in the visual arts program, and to honor Kinsell as a teacher, as an ardent supporter of the arts in our community, and as a huge supporter of the FVA and its fundraising activities.

An art professor at SFA for 25 years before retiring in 2013, Kinsell taught courses in painting, drawing, figure drawing and advertising design. The Robert Kinsell Art Scholarship is awarded annually to an undergraduate or graduate level art student with painting or photography as his or her major study area, according to the criteria developed by Kinsell.

The SFA Friends of the Visual Arts is made up of community members who support the arts in East Texas and provide monetary assistance to students enrolling in the School of Art by conducting fundraisers, such as the upcoming annual 12X12 event in July.

Volunteers with the Friends of the Visual Arts at Stephen F. Austin State University are busy organizing this year’s 12X12 scholarship fundraiser and are seeking sponsors to help make it successful.

The silent auction features 12-by-12-inch works of art created by approximately 70 artists from Nacogdoches, Lufkin and other areas of East Texas. The art will be on display beginning June 29 in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches. Anyone may silently bid on the pieces. Bidding will continue until Saturday evening, July 16. At that time, there will be a party beginning at 6 p.m. at the art center. The public may attend.

This year’s featured artist is Runcie Tatnall, former assistant professor of drawing and painting in the SFA School of Art. Tatnall recently left SFA to pursue other career interests, but he continues to support of the Friends of the Visual Arts and the organization’s efforts to provide scholarship opportunities for deserving young artists.

Sponsors who have already committed resources to the fundraiser are The Daily Sentinel and Vida Raney. Other businesses or individuals interested in sponsorship may contact this year’s event chair, David Cozadd, at (936) 715-0401.

“The purpose of 12X12 is to raise much-needed funds to help art students pursue their dreams of becoming successful artists,” according to Jean Stephens, chairwoman of the FVA.

“The 12X12 fundraiser is important to both the FVA and SFA art students, because its success determines the amount of financial support we can give the students,” Stephens said.

Within the past year, the FVA awarded more than $16,000 in Friendship Grants and scholarships to 46 students; the grants ranged from $200 to $400 per student, while the scholarships ranged from $750 to $1,000. The grants were awarded to help defray the costs of special projects for their art classes or MBA/BA exhibition. Some recipients have attended conferences or gone on school trips that will help with their professional development. This has included Maymester trips for art students to go to Big Bend for a special photography project. This summer, the organization also awarded scholarships for several elementary school students to attend the SFA Art Academy.

The Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main St. For more information about 12X12, call The Cole Art Center at (936) 468-6557.

The SFA School of Art and Friends of the Visual Arts will offer Texas Blueberry Festival-goers the opportunity to view “Found Footage: Rediscovering Nacogdoches” and the George Hooker short promotional film “Nacogdoches: The Oldest Town.”

The two films will be shown every hour on the hour starting at 10 a.m. with the last screenings starting at 3 p.m. on festival day, June 11, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches. Copies of the DVD will be available for purchase during the festival.

“Found Footage” features scenes of Nacogdoches people and businesses in 1938 documented on film. The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts and Humanities Texas, in association with the Charles and Lois Marie Bright Foundation, championed the effort to restore the forgotten 16mm film, labeled “Nacogdoches 1938.” Discovered at Nacogdoches High School in 1967 but forgotten until a few years ago, the film was digitally restored and viewed in 2014 for the first time in 70 years.

The Cole Art Center will also serve as an official “oasis” during the festival, according to Lisa Steed, events coordinator for SFA galleries, with tables and chairs set up inside where festival patrons can escape the heat. The art center’s restrooms will also be available to festival-goers.

Volunteers with the Friends of the Visual Arts will man an outside tent where they will sell homemade gumbo, blueberry tea and blueberry baked goods with proceeds going toward funding grants and scholarships the Friends of the Visual Arts awards annually to students in the School of Art.

Blueberry Festival also marks the end of the Texas National exhibition, Abelardo Morell’s photography exhibition and the Boys & Girls Club’s ImageMakers Photography Competition exhibition.

Upcoming Cole Art Center events include the Nacogdoches Photographic Association and Nacogdoches Art League annual shows, which open at 6 p.m. Friday, June 24. The annual 12×12 Art Scholarship Fundraiser exhibition opens Wednesday, June 29, for viewing and silent auction bidding, with the closing party event slated for Saturday night, July 16.

Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main St. For more information, call (936) 468-1131.

An exhibition highlighting the history of African-American leaders in Nacogdoches is the final product for students in a history graduate course within Stephen F. Austin State University’s College of Liberal and Applied Arts.

“I taught a graduate-level history course at SFA this spring, and my students and I developed, designed and produced an exhibition titled, ‘Leaders of Courage: Educating, Mobilizing and Preserving the African-American Community of Nacogdoches,’” said Dr. Paul Sandul, associate professor in the SFA Department of History. “The title comes from a quote by local civil rights activist Arthur Weaver.”

The exhibition will be on display from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, June 14 through July 8, in the historic E.J. Campbell High School, 499 South Shawnee St. An opening reception is scheduled for the evening of Monday, June 13.

“The focus of the exhibition is to highlight such Nacogdoches heroes and leaders as E.J. Campbell, Arthur Weaver and Birdie Wade and the good work they did toward sustaining the community, especially as they faced the difficulties of racism and violence in a Jim Crow Nacogdoches,” Sandul said. “The exhibition highlights this last reality, while underscoring the courage and leadership of these three individuals—for the betterment of the African-American community and, really, for all of us calling Nacogdoches our home today.”

Students within Sandul’s History 570 Collections Management course spent the entirety of the spring 2016 semester digging through East Texas Research Center archives to create 10 text-based, 40-by-32-inch poster boards. The Leaders of Courage posters will be filled with historical information, dozens of historical photographs, maps and an in-depth timeline.

“This graduate course and project introduced students to the essential knowledge, skills and abilities required to conduct the management of archival and museum collections with a specific focus on serving and reaching a public audience,” said Sandul. “In fact, each of these students aspires for a public history career in one of these fields and is the very reason each has enrolled at SFA.

“While the students read essays, extended monographs and technical briefs to familiarize themselves with the processes and practices of archival and museum collections, they had a heavy ‘hands-on’ emphasis to provide them with real-world experiences. Functioning as a member of a team, the students thus created an exhibition highlighting collections at the local East Texas Research Center archive. The Leaders of Courage exhibition is the product of that hands-on experience,” Sandul said.

QR codes, or bar codes with the capability to be scanned by smartphones, also were developed by students for the exhibition. When scanned, the codes link to Internet sites with recorded oral histories and other additional historical information pertinent to the Leaders of Courage project.

For more information, email Sandul at sandulpj@sfasu.edu.