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Piero Fenci, professor of art at Stephen F. Austin State University, is among the artists selected to participate in a free, virtual panel discussion to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft.

The panel brings together a group of locally and nationally distinguished artists and thinkers to reflect on how HCCC has grown over the past 20 years and what the future of craft as a field looks like.

The discussion takes place from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 23. Virtual attendance is free, but registration is required. Visit https://crafthouston.org/events/20th-anniversary-virtual-panel-discussion/ to register.

Professor of art at SFA since 1975, Fenci has earned an international reputation as a ceramist, exhibiting his work from coast to coast, as well as in Italy, Russia and Mexico. In 2012, he was named a “Texas Master” by the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft and was the fourth person (and the first ceramist) in the state to be honored with the award. His work is represented in many private and public collections, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Scheiner-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art, Alfred, New York; and in the Tyler Museum of Art, Tyler.

Founded in 2001, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft is a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to advancing education about the process, product and history of craft. The center’s major emphasis is on objects of art made primarily from craft materials: clay, fiber, glass, metal, wood or found/recycled materials.
HCCC serves as a resource in the Houston arts community and the region by showcasing emerging and acclaimed artists in exhibitions, introducing visitors of all ages to contemporary craft through hands-on and virtual programming, and supporting the development of working artists through its artist residency programs.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Office of Multicultural Affairs will host its first Brave Space Series of the semester at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 16, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Multimedia Room.

The program, “Through the Looking Glass,” will discuss ways to view situations and issues through individual perspectives.

“In the world we live in now, we must coexist with our different perspectives,” said La-Meria Seriale, OMA student ambassador. “Come join us and discuss how we as an SFA community can be more inclusive of others’ views and still be behind our own views.”

For more information, contact the OMA at oma@sfasu.edu or (936) 468-1073.

By Joanna Armstrong, marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University

An exhibition of tintypes by Bill Nieberding, associate professor of art at Stephen F. Austin State University, will show Sept. 11 through Oct. 9 at Falling Star Gallery.

“Reflections in Silver” features tintype photographs that explore a range of East Texas subjects and still-life.

“Time flows differently in East Texas,” Nieberding said in his artist statement. “Tintype is an antiquated process invented in the 1850s that is inextricably intertwined with the concept of time. Exposures are long, as the collodion emulsion is extremely slow – much less sensitive to light than modern digital sensors.”

But the photographer has to work quickly. A metal plate is covered in liquid collodion and dipped in silver nitrate solution to make it light-sensitive. The photographer loads the plate into a camera, takes the picture and develops it immediately. It all has to happen while the plate is still wet.

“It’s a demanding process that produces one-of-a-kind photographs on metal or glass,” Nieberding said. “It is also a process ideally suited to exploring and rending the notion of time integral to this region.”

Support for the exhibition and Nieberding’s wet-plate-collodion research is funded by a Research and Creative Activities Grant through the SFA Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.

A reception with the artist is planned for 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18, and will include a special musical performance. Light refreshments will be served.

Falling Star Gallery is located at 216 N. Church St. For more information, call (917) 209-1050.

For unique, live-theatre experiences in an intimate setting, the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre offers its 2021-22 Mainstage Series featuring three outstanding plays presented on the SFA campus and another play presented in the neighboring town of Center.

From comedies to classics, this year’s selection includes something for everyone, according to Cleo House Jr., director of the School of Theatre. This season’s shows include “Bootycandy” by Robert O’Hara; “Ajax in Iraq” by Ellen McLaughlin; “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder; and “The Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare.

“To say that I am excited about this season is an understatement,” House said. “We are producing a diverse range of plays that will be speak to people with a variety of tastes. I am particularly excited about our joint collaboration on ‘Ajax in Iraq’ with Panola College’s theatre department. It’s an idea I had to go beyond articulation agreements and really put collaboration with our community partners into action.

“Griffith Fine Arts Building is still under renovation, so we’ll be in Kennedy Auditorium again this year for three performances,” he added, “but students, staff and faculty have continued to display outstanding ingenuity and adaptability that has resulted in great experiences for our audiences.”

Based on the author’s own experiences, “Bootycandy” is a satiric portrait of American life told through the lens of Sutter, a gay black man on an outrageous odyssey through his childhood home, his church, dive bars, motel rooms and even nursing homes. O’Hara weaves together scenes, sermons, sketches and daring meta-theatrics to create a humorous and daring portrayal of growing up gay and black. The play is suggested for Ages 17+ because of its strong language and mature themes. The play runs Oct. 12 through 16 in Kennedy Auditorium.

Past and present collide in McLaughlin’s mash-up of Sophocles’ classic tragedy “Ajax” with the modern-day war in Iraq. The play follows the parallel narratives of Ajax, an ancient Greek military hero, and A.J., a modern female American soldier, both undone by the betrayal of a commanding officer. Athena, goddess of war, coolly presides over the whole. Inspired by material collected from interviews with Iraq war veterans and their families, “Ajax in Iraq” explores the timeless struggle soldiers face in trying to make sense of war. The play contains adult language and content. The show runs Nov. 9 through 13 and will be presented in the Community House, 425 San Augustine St., in Center.

Pulitzer Prize-winning drama of everyday life in a small town at the dawn of the 20th century, “Our Town” is an American classic. In it, a “stage manager” guides us through the lives of two families: their daily activities, first love, marriage, death and its aftermath. Young lovers Emily and George, their parents, siblings and colorful neighbors use humor and powerful storytelling in place of traditional scenery and costumes to explore the universal question of what it means to be human. “Our Town” runs Feb. 22 through 26 in Kennedy.

In Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew,” Lucentio loves Bianca but cannot court her until her shrewish older sister Katherina marries. The eccentric Petruchio marries the reluctant Katherina and uses a number of tactics to make her an obedient wife. Lucentio marries Bianca and, in a contest at the end, Katherina appears to prove that she is the most loyal wife. The play runs April 5 through 9 in Kennedy.

Plans are already in place for the School of Theatre’s 2022 SummerStage Festival, which will feature “Women Who Weave” by J.S. Puller along with “The Jungle Book, Kids,” a children’s musical based on the novel by Rudyard Kipling and the Disney film.

Mainstage Series single ticket prices are: adult, $15; senior (62+), $10; SFA faculty/staff, $7.50; youth, $7.50; student, $5; regular streaming, $25; student streaming, $10. Live virtual access is not available for all shows. Performances are generally at 7:30 nightly. Purchase tickets/access at boxoffice.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407. For questions about play content, contact the School of Theatre at (936) 468-4003.

Bob Sitton ’60, the longtime Stephen F. Austin State University Alumni Association director who helped endow hundreds of scholarships that generated millions of dollars, is being honored with a golf tournament in his name.

Sitton, who led the association from 1972 to 1998, will be the namesake of the Bob Sitton Classic at Homecoming, the annual golf tournament at Piney Woods Country Club. The alumni association approved the name change for the event formerly known as the Annual SFA Alumni Homecoming Golf Tournament.

Sitton – who after retirement remained a fixture on campus as a part-time employee and who in full retirement still visits campus regularly – was inducted into the SFA Alumni Hall of Fame in 2015, having been nominated by at least seven people. He also was the first recipient of the SFA Lifetime Achievement Award, among numerous other accolades and achievements.

“This is a nice nod to Bob and his years of service to SFA,” said Craig Turnage ’00 and ’05, the alumni association’s executive director. “He bleeds purple and loves golf. We wanted to bring it all together.”

A Cushing native, Sitton grew up on a farm with no electricity or running water. Early on during college, he had to return home to milk cows. After earning his degree in health and physical education, he coached high school football, with stints at Cushing High School, C.E. King High School in Houston, and Klein High School in Spring.

Sitton was told about the renaming of the golf tournament by Derek Snyder ’01, director of alumni relations.

“He was truly speechless, and he doesn’t get that way often,” Snyder said. “He told me, ‘I’m honored and have always felt that I had the best job on campus. The people – the alumni of SFA that I have met and the friends I have made – are truly priceless!”‘

In addition to the golf tournament, the Bob Sitton Head Men’s Basketball Coach Office at William R. Johnson Coliseum is being named after the hall-of-famer. The Board of Regents approved the name change last year at the behest of Ron Kesterson ’76, who served on the Alumni Association and Alumni Foundation boards from 1991 to 2001.

The Bob Sitton Classic takes place on Oct. 29 at Piney Woods Country Club at 3001 U.S. Highway 59 South in Nacogdoches and will feature food trucks, a bourbon tasting and a mobile cigar lounge. The deadline for registration is Oct. 20. For more details visit the Bob Sitton Classic at Homecoming.

By Richard Massey, Senior Marketing Communications Specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University