SCCA Celebrates Teaching Artists and Creative Classrooms

The Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts is showcasing a new summer exhibition, “Talented Teachers and Students,” featuring artwork from local art teachers and students. The Center will hold a free opening reception on Thursday, July 18, 2024, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The exhibition will be available for public viewing in the Center’s award-winning art galleries until July 27, 2024. The gallery is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The “Talented Teachers and Students” exhibition aims to highlight art educators who continue developing their creative skills outside the classroom. Many well-known artists, such as conceptual American artist Sol LeWitt, Mexican printmaker José Guadalupe Posada Aguilar, and African American sculptor Augusta Savage, were also teachers. This exhibit celebrates the lasting impact of teaching artists through their works and those of their talented students.

“As a former art teacher, balancing the demands of classroom art, personal artistic practice, and teaching is challenging,” said Nana A.N. Ferdnance, the new Creative Arts Coordinator at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts and curator of the exhibition. “I wanted to showcase the artwork of dedicated art educators and students, as art teachers often do not receive the recognition they deserve for their work. It’s crucial for the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts to highlight their influence on the visual art culture of Suffolk and the wider Hampton Roads area.”

The exhibition features art teachers and students from Suffolk, Suffolk Public Schools, the non-profit agency ForKids, Tidewater Virginia Art Education Association, and other members of the Hampton Roads community. The artists include Angie Salerno, Asiko-Oluwa Aderin, Barbara Espinosa, Diana Chappell, Elizabeth Blanchard, Gail Trimyer, Karen Sallaz, Kathryn Jones, Kimberly Ellis, Maisie Thomas, Nfon Asuquo Phyllis Quire, Rachel Santos, Tommy Johnson, Jennifer McGuffie, and ForKids students from the Chesapeake chapter.

The public is invited to join the opening reception on Thursday, July 18th at 5:30 p.m. in the Center’s wheelchair-accessible art galleries on the second floor. The Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts is located in historic downtown Suffolk, at 110 W. Finney Avenue, Suffolk, Virginia 23434. For additional information, please call 757.923.0003, ext. 108, or visit [the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts website](https://suffolkcenter.org/exhibit/talented-teachers-students-exhibit/).

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