The Smith Gallery at Appalachian State University will host artist Stacey L. Kirby on Nov. 6 for a public artist talk at 6 p.m. at the Turchin Center For the Visual Arts. As an artist whose work focuses on civil rights and political participation, speaking on election day was important to Kirby.
Kirby is a queer artist based in Durham whose work focuses on individuality within current political conditions. She addresses issues of citizenship and personal identity through both performance and installation.
“The Smith Gallery is thrilled to bring this outstanding artist to campus this year,” said Gallery Director Jennie Carlisle.
“There is so much we can learn from her about how creative practices can be used effectively for social change, and how we can see ourselves within the broader field of social politics. Stacey Kirby’s presence on campus will provide our community with an opportunity to deepen our connection to important civic issues from immigration rights to support for LGBTQ individuals.”
Her work takes place in a variety of environments in order to engage the viewer with her interactive art. Some of these places include traditional art spaces, vacant buildings, protests and billboards.
Kirby has been awarded the ArtPrize Juried Grand Prize and a NC Arts Council Artist Fellowship for Visual Artists. She has also been nominated for the Anonymous Was A Woman Award.
She has shown her work both regionally and nationally at venues such as the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, the Contemporary Art Museum in Raleigh, Bard College and Fraction Workspace in Chicago.
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Media Contact
Jennie Carlisle
215.421.7118
carlislejk@appstate.edu
About the Smith Gallery
The Department of Art’s Smith Gallery is a vibrant contemporary art space, housed in Appalachian State University’s Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts. It presents original and travelling exhibitions, features work by faculty and students at the university, and commissions daring new art in all of its forms. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is free.
About Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University, in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The transformational Appalachian experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and embrace diversity and difference. As one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina system, Appalachian enrolls about 19,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.
Stacey Kirby's "The Power of the Ballot"
Stacey Kirby's "The Power of the Ballot," on display at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University in Durham. Photo by Jay Caldwell