Exhibit Location: Downtown Library (Main Campus) and Nutting Gallery in the WVU Alumni Center
Exhibit Dates: August 2026 - May 2027
Reception: Oct. 15, 2026, at the Nutting Gallery
In honor of the United States’ 250th anniversary, the 2026–27 WVU Alumni Art Show invites viewers to explore freedom and independence through the eyes of West Virginia University alumni artists. This exhibition gathers a rich spectrum of perspectives—personal, historical, political, and cultural—demonstrating that the meaning of liberty is neither fixed nor singular.
From Livia Balan’s luminous meditations on memory and hope in the face of oppression to Ken Hillberry’s contemplations on the presence or absence of autonomy, each work captures a unique negotiation with freedom. Artists such as Betsy Jaeger and Morin Nessim explore constraints imposed by society or circumstance, while Precious Burger and Margaret Rose Caro examine freedom as inner resilience, joy, and self-expression. Other works, like Griffin Nordstrom’s quilt and Eliza Siefert’s ecological reflections, consider freedom as communal practice, tied to heritage, labor, and environmental stewardship.
Portraits, abstractions, text-based paintings, mixed media, ceramics, and quilts collectively reveal the diverse ways artists grapple with liberty: as memory and inheritance, as resistance and care, and as lived, ongoing practice. By presenting these perspectives side by side, the exhibition encourages viewers to reflect on how history, identity, place, and action shape the possibilities of freedom and independence today.
Celebrating alumni creativity while prompting critical reflection, Reflecting on Freedom invites dialogue about our nation’s past, the freedoms still being fought for, and the inclusive, transformative visions of liberty that lie ahead.
Complete Artist List:
Stephanie Alaniz (2019, MFA, Mixed media/quilts & textiles), Livia Balan (1997, MA, Tempera, watercolor & pencil on cardboard; oil on canvas), Precious Burger (1996 BA, 1999 MA, Acrylic & mixed media on canvas), Sue Byrd (1977, BFA, Mixed media/painting), Margaret Rose Caro (1970, BFA, Painting: oil & oil pastel), Ken Hillberry (1975, BFA, Drawing), Ron Hollingshead (2011, MFA, Sculpture/installation), Betsy Jaeger (1978, MFA, Oil painting & mixed media), Yvette Mazza (1974, Art, Oil painting), Ben Nelsen (2011, BFA, Acrylic painting/text), Morin Nessim (2025, BS Biology Minor Ceramics, Ceramic sculpture), Griffin Nordstrom (2022, BFA Sculpture & BA Art History, Quilts/mixed media), Tom Ott (1974, Masters Theatre/Directing, Painting & mixed media), Ali Printz (2009, BFA Painting & BA Art History, Oil painting & sewn fabric), , Eliza Siefert (2022, BS Environmental Microbiology, Mixed media/assemblage), Nancy Swisher (1974, BA English, 1978 MA English, Painting), Tiera Tanner (2018, MFA, Mixed media/painting & drawing), Raymond Thompson, Jr. (2021, MFA Studio Art, photography)) Desiree Vu (2024, BFA Printmaking, Mixed media), Ruth Yang (2021, BFA, Oil & acrylic portrait painting).
Call for Responses! Respond to the artwork to have your reflection potentially included in the exhibit.
Questions? Want to partner on any events?
For more information, please contact: Curator, Sally Brown, sally.brown1@mail.wvu.edu
Artwork below by top: Ken Hillberry, bottom left: Stephanie Alaniz, bottom right: Livia Balan.
