For press information, contact Simone Notter Wilson (901) 678-4164

The 5th Annual Juried Art Education Alumni Exhibition is held in collaboration with the University of Memphis Department of Art and local K-12 teachers. Opening reception for the exhibition is Thursday, March 4 2010 from 4 to 6 p.m. Awards announcement and recognition is at 5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. The exhibition runs through March 25, 2010.

Juror for this year's show is Lea Alexander, 2009 University of Memphis M.F.A. graduate in photography. This year's theme, Green Art, is shared through the artists' visual interpretation and choice of media. Each participating U of M Alumni (K-12 teachers) submitted one recent work of art along with two pieces from his or her student. The exhibition marks the beginning of Youth Art Month, an annual observance each March that emphasizes the value of art education for all children and encourages support for quality school art programs.

Jones Hall Gallery is located in Jones Hall, room 109. Jones Hall is at the intersection of Alumni and Desoto on the University of Memphis Campus. Admission is free. For more information call (901) 678-2019.

About the Juror:

Lea Alexander is currently and instructor in the Department of Art. Her thesis exhibition works were photographs of landscapes created out of bedding. The bed in Alexander's work became a place of either comfort or anxiety, and the newly created landscapes became a place of even greater ambiguity and transition. By taking the fabric out of its original context, Alexander conveyed emotions and feelings that go along with these spaces, which are both quietly intense