Current Exhibitions at the Reece Museum

CURRENT EXHIBITS

•  Spring 2024 BFA Senior Exhibition ( March 18 - April 26)

  The Reece Museum, ETSU's Department of Art & Design, and Slocumb Galleries present the Spring 2024 BFA Senior Exhibition. The exhibition will be on display from March 18 to April 26 at the Reece Museum, featuring the work of three graduating Bachelor of Fine Arts students, Elizabeth House, Ashley Johnson, and Hunter Strutton. A  reception will be held on Thursday, April 4 from 5 to 7 pm.

  Elizabeth House, born and raised in rural Middle Tennessee, is a senior Bachelor of Fine Arts student concentrating in ceramics. Forever Altered is a series of ceramic and sculptural work that is inspired by her late grandfather’s tractor shed and tools that shaped his life. The exhibition explores themes of memory, loss, and transformation, creating a profound connection between the past and present. 

  Echoes of the Hospital is Ashley Johnson’s reflection of past experiences with patients she has known during her career as a interdepartmental healthcare worker. This exhibition is a mix of lithographic and relief prints that embodies the trauma of the healthcare field with reflective Appalachian atmospheres. 

  As an oil painter and metalsmith, Hunter Strutton brings forth an exploration of personal history and societal reflection in his Bachelor of Fine Art Exhibition, You only love me when it suits you. Delving into the depths of childhood trauma and identity, Strutton’s journey as a queer man growing up in East Tennessee unfolds across each canvas and metal work. 

  The Reece Museum is a unit of the Center of Excellence for Appalachian Studies and Services, which is housed in the ETSU Department of Appalachian Studies. The Reece Museum is located on the campus of East Tennessee State University and is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information view our Visit Us page or phone (423) 439-4392. 

  Slocumb Galleries are located at Ernest C. Ball Hall, 232 Sherrod Drive, ETSU campus. For information about Slocumb Galleries, email Slocumb Galleries Director Karlota Contreras-Koterbay at or visit http://www.etsu.edu/cas/art/galleries. 

  The Reece Museum is a unit of the Center of Excellence for Appalachian Studies and Services, which is housed in the ETSU Department of Appalachian Studies. The Reece Museum is located on the campus of East Tennessee State University and is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information view our Visit Us page or phone (423) 439-4392. 

• Reminiscence and Ruin ( March 4 - May 3)

  Sarah Bargerstock’s undergraduate honors thesis exhibition, Reminiscence and Ruin is now on display in the Reece Museum's Hallway Gallery through May 3. The exhibition is a collection of paintings and drawings that utilize symbolic figurative narratives to explore concepts of memory. These visual stories are centered around themes of womanhood, death, nostalgia, human connection, and emotional exploration. Filtered through a surreal and dream-like lens, her work combines the feminine Appalachian experience, interactions with nature, and the process of remembrance to further understand and honor an unreconciled and guarded past. 

  A  reception will be held on Thursday, April 4 from 5 to 7 pm.

  View Bargerstock's Instagram Page.

  The Reece Museum is a unit of the Center of Excellence for Appalachian Studies and Services, which is housed in the ETSU Department of Appalachian Studies. The Reece Museum is located on the campus of East Tennessee State University and is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information view our Visit Us page or phone (423) 439-4392. 

• Embodying Culture: Women in Appalachia (January 15 - July 4)

  
  Embodiment is an act of taking in or becoming so as to make visible otherwise intangible ideas. Literally, embodiment is the giving of form or expression to the abstract by putting it “in the body.” In cultural embodiment, elements of culture may be inscribed on or within a body as a mark of identification or to designate individuals as culture bearers. While gender is not exclusive in cultural embodiment, women are often the most recognized culture bearers in marked and invisible ways. This exhibition explores the ways in which women embody Appalachian culture and traditions of the past and present as they shape the future.

  "As women artists expressing solidarity across differences, we must forge ahead, creating spaces where our work can be seen and evaluated according to standards that reflect our sense of artistic merit. As we strive to enter the mainstream art world, we must feel empowered to vigilantly guard the representation of the woman artist so that it is never again devalued. Fundamentally, we must create the space for feminist intervention without surrendering our primary concern, which is a devotion to making art, a devotion intense and rewarding enough that it is the path leading to our freedom and fulfillment."

  -bell hooks, Art on My Mind (1995)

  Embodying Culture combines three venues, an art gallery, a classroom, and a stage, to provide a space to explore visualizations of feminine perspectives in Appalachia through artistic expression. A stage has been built to serve as a platform for performances and academic lectures that will further delve into themes of identity, activism, ancestry, tradition-bearing, and the diverse experiences of Appalachian women. All of these venues converge to create the social happening that is Embodying Culture.

  

  EVENT SERIES SUBMISSION

  
  Lectures, workshops, talks, stories, performances, and other presentations that explore themes of identity, activism, ancestry, tradition-bearing, and the diverse experiences of Appalachian women are wanted. 

  Submission Form

  Submissions accepted throughout the course of the exhibition (January 15 - July 5)

  Notice of accepted submissions will be sent as they are reviewed.

  The Reece Museum is a unit of the Center of Excellence for Appalachian Studies and Services, which is housed in the ETSU Department of Appalachian Studies. The Reece Museum is located on the campus of East Tennessee State University and is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information about the exhibition or events, please view our Visit Us page or call 423-439-4392.

• Storehouse of Knowledge (January 29  - March 22)

  
  For more than 50 years the Reece Museum has told the many stories of Appalachia. Housing approximately 22,000 artifacts, the Reece collection captures the region's past as well as its contemporary art and culture.

  The Museum began in the late 1920s as a class project created by history professor Maxine Mathews. Under the supervision of ETSU President Charles C. Sherrod, the Museum continued to grow. During the 1930s and 1940s, librarians staffed the Museum and provided tours to visitors.

  "storehouse of knowledge ... for the use of the university's students and the citizens of the state."  

  In August 1961, Louise Goff Reece, wife of the late Congressman Brazilla Carroll Reece, donated her husband's personal library, including congressional reports, files, and other materials of educational and historic value, to ETSU. Formally dedicated on October 10, 1965, the B. Carroll Reece Memorial Museum was established as a tribute to the memory of First District Congressman B. Carroll Reece as a "storehouse of knowledge ... for the use of the university's students and the citizens of the state."  

  Storehouse of Knowledge is inspired by a confluence of the Reece Museum’s original mission and the influx of artifacts that the Reece Museum has acquired since 2020. All of the artifacts that are on display in this gallery were formally accessioned and added to the museum’s permanent collection within the last three to four years. None of these artifacts would have been acquired without the collaboration, generosity, and interest of local and regional donors, artists, community members, researchers, and ETSU students and faculty. As we begin a new semester and year, we hope visitors are inspired by this selection of artifacts that are recent additions to our permanent collection.  

  The Reece Museum is located on the campus of East Tennessee State University and is free and open to the public Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Follow the Reece Museum on social media for more content and digital programming. For more information about the exhibition or events, please view our Visit Us page or call 423-439-4392.

• Ballet in Appalachia: 75 Years with Bristol Ballet (July 17, 2023 - June 28, 2024)

  
  The Reece Museum, in collaboration with the Archives of Appalachia and Bristol Ballet, present Ballet in Appalachia: 75 Years with Bristol Ballet. The exhibition is a historical retrospective of one of the oldest arts institutions in the Tri-Cities region. This Tennessee Music Pathways exhibition includes photographs, program books, costumes, and other archival materials from the 75-year history of this local arts organization in both Tennessee and Virginia.

  "We are thrilled to be partnering with ETSU's Reece Museum and Archives of Appalachia to highlight our historical milestone in such a special way! We can't wait to share Bristol Ballet's unique history and its connection to music with our community,” says Moira Frazier Ostrander. “Our hope is to give access to ballet through this exhibition and through the Ballet’s continuing contributions to the permanent collections in the Archives and Museum."

  Bristol Ballet, in its 75-year history, has a long tradition of serving and being a part of the Appalachian community surrounding it. The ballet company has provided quality dance training and performances since 1948, and has integrated and interacted with the Appalachian region from the beginning, when Constance Hardinge, the founder, fell in love with the mountains. Throughout the years Bristol Ballet staff have donated artifacts such as photographs, programs books, and other documents to the Archives of Appalachia, recently donating a number of original costumes to the Reece Museum. These artifacts will serve to tell the story of Bristol Ballet and provide opportunities for further research.

  In addition to the exhibition, Bristol Ballet hosted a special 75th Anniversary Celebration in 2023 at Paramount Bristol. During this performance Bristol Ballet premiered two new dance pieces set to Appalachian music. Both pieces are jointly choreographed by Moira Frazier Ostrander and Amanda Hairston. Myth is a singular dance piece that will be performed to the song of the same name by Amethyst Kiah, a native of Johnson City and ETSU Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Roots Music Studies program alum who has achieved national and international recognition. Another piece, Love Letter to Appalachia will feature Dolly Parton’s My Tennessee Mountain Home. This ballet piece utilizes beautiful Appalachian imagery to craft a “love letter” to the region we call home.

  Tennessee Music Pathways connects you to the people, places and genres that make Tennessee the Soundtrack of America. From the largest cities to the smallest communities, this state-wide program identifies, explains, and preserves the legacy of music in Tennessee. Whether it is a story of the past, a star of the present, or the promise of the future, Tennessee Music Pathways let you follow the music. It’s an experience that can only be Made in Tennessee. 

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