‘Colour Somewhere’ exhibit in Hutcheson Gallery features African-American artists

‘Colour Somewhere’ exhibit in Hutcheson Gallery features African-American artists

Lipscomb’s art professors are encouraging diversity at Lipscomb, specifically through art exhibits in Hutcheson Gallery. “A lot of perspectives can be learned through art,” said Lawrence Matthews, the curator of Hutcheson’s new “Colour Somewhere” exhibit. The collection features art from African-American creators who are from or currently live in Tennessee. Cliff Tierney, Chair of Lipscomb’s Visual Arts program, said he is excited to feature more diverse artwork at Lipscomb. “One of the things that we wanted to make sure we did is have a diverse series of shows for this academic year and from here on out,” Tierney said. “I think it’s important that Lipscomb be more involved with the African-American community…And our part, as a visual arts department, is to do exactly what we’re doing here: exhibit the work of black artists…” The gallery, which was curated by Memphis-based artist and musician Lawrence Matthews, features work from a variety of African-American artists, ranging from about 19 to 38 years old. Lipscomb faculty member Brian Jobe, who was raised in Memphis, shared mutual friends with Matthews. According to Tierney, Matthews had curated a Memphis show the previous year that “went really, really well,” so Jobe recommended Matthews to Lipscomb. “I called him and said, ‘Would you like to put together a show at some point in the academic year?’ and he was on board immediately,” Tierney said. “I trusted him to bring in what he felt would be the best, and there’s a really beautiful variety of work in here.”  Matthews, who attended the gallery opening, said he wanted to create an exhibit that represented the artists’ “blackness” or...

Lipscomb commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Nashville

This December marks the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Nashville, and to commemorate the battle, Lipscomb is hosting a variety of events. Much of the battle took place around Lipscomb, and the school sits on a large portion of the battlefield. Tim Johnson, professor of history at Lipscomb and a nationally recognized expert in the Civil and Mexican Wars, has organized different events to mark the occasion, and the events take a look at one of the more unique aspects of the battle. “Something else that most people don’t know about, that is really important, is that more African American Union soldiers fought in the Battle of Nashville than any other Civil War battle,” Johnson said. The battle took place Dec. 15-16, so there will be events through the middle of November. The first event was a kickoff symposium at Historic Travellers Rest on Sept. 18. The next event will be Tuesday Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. in Ward Lecture Hall where a showing of the movie “Glory” will take place followed by a post-movie discussion on heroes. “We have three movies,” Johnson said. “We’re calling it the Civil War on the Silver Screen.” The other two movie dates are Oct. 14 that will show “Lincoln”, and Oct. 28 featuring “Copperhead”. The final day of events is Nov. 15. Professor Johnson said it will be the “really big culminating symposium” that will involve several guest speakers including Pulitzer Prize winning Civil War historian James McPherson from Princeton, Joesph Glatthaar of the University of North Carolina and John Baker, a local historian and genealogist. That event will take place in...