Exhibition + reception celebrating university’s 50th anniversary

All are invited to join the Libraries on Wednesday, May 25, from 4 to 6 p.m. for a program celebrating our latest exhibition and the university’s 50th anniversary. The event will take place in Fenwick Library, Room 2001, and will feature a presentation, reception, and time to tour the exhibition. RSVPs are welcome.

“We are Mason: A Student History” is curated by the Special Collections Research Center. The exhibition, which opened in April, will run through December 2022. “We are Mason” illustrates Mason’s first fifty years as an independent university, with a focus on Mason’s students. You can read more about the exhibition at the following:

Fenwick Gallery hosts exhibition of self-published student comics

Fenwick Gallery at George Mason University is pleased to host “We Make Comics!an exhibition of minicomics and process art from students in the School of Art. The exhibition is on view in Fenwick Gallery from April 27 through May 29, 2022.

“We Make Comics!” showcases the process of creating comics from first pitch through final print, and features work from students in the inaugural “Dynamic Publishing” course at Mason. Students in this class developed minicomics (short, self-published comics) in multiple genres, from science fiction to fantasy and slice-of-life. These artists worked in a range of media through the sketch and design stages and produced the final version of their comics using Risograph printing. The exhibition presents story outlines and notes, character sketches, and rough drafts alongside the finished minicomics, demonstrating the breadth of the creative process and showing how much a story can change during development and final printing. 

“We Make Comics” features work from thirteen student artists, and is curated by Chen Bi (Fenwick Gallery Graduate Research Assistant) and Stephanie Grimm (Art & Art History Librarian and Fenwick Gallery Manager), with support from Prof. Christopher Kardambikis, instructor for “Dynamic Publishing” in Spring 2022.

“We Make Comics” is on display in Fenwick Gallery, located in Fenwick Library on Mason’s Fairfax campus, and may be viewed during the library’s business hours. Visit the Libraries website at http://library.gmu.edu for the most accurate and up-to-date information.

For more information on “We Make Comics!”, contact Stephanie Grimm at sgrimm4@gmu.edu. For general inquiries about the University Libraries or George Mason University, contact Jessica Clark, Development and Communications Officer, at jclarkw@gmu.edu.

New exhibition opening in celebration of Mason’s 50th anniversary: “We are Mason”

The Mason Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) is proud to present “We Are Mason: A Student History” – a new exhibition which will run from April through December 2022, with associated programming to be announced.

“We are Mason” illustrates Mason’s first fifty years as an independent university (officially recognized on April 7, 1972) as well as the fifteen years prior that mark its development from a fledgling branch college (that first opened in 1957). The exhibition focuses on Mason’s students, who have always been the main reason our institution exists and carries on into the future.

The Bulletin, George Mason College of the University of Virginia, April 7, 1972. George Mason University Publications, The Bulletin, R0128, Box 9, Folder 9.

Images in the exhibit illustrate student life throughout the years as well as the growth of university traditions, expansion of the campus, and important milestones in our institution’s history. The images and physical objects in the exhibition date from 1957 to 2022.

Visitors are welcome to view “We are Mason” in SCRC’s exhibition space on the second floor of Fenwick Library, during our open hours (see Hours for more information). The Libraries will host a special exhibition reception later this spring.

Generation Lines – Exhibition Reception, March 9

Join us on Wednesday, March 9, from 4:30 – 6 p.m. for a closing reception for Generation Lines, now on view at Fenwick Gallery in Fenwick Library.

Registration is free but required – sign up here!

About the exhibit:
The unit of the line, so essential in poetry and in drawing, painting, and design, connects the linguistic and visual modes and provides a site for evocative resistance to sense or order. Featuring work from BFA and MFA students from the Fall 2021 class “Poetry for Artists,” Generation Lines features comics, artists books, photography, prints, and poetry. These students explored visual thinking in poetry and poetics, as well as uses of poetry in visual art and design. These works connect to family history, to the body, and to visual perception and aesthetic experience itself.

Generation Lines is curated by Chen Bi (MFA student, School of Art and Fenwick Gallery Graduate Assistant) and Heather Green (Assistant Professor, School of Art), and features the work of Sierra Guard, Liz Louise, Trisha Nguyen, Jax Ohashi, Bahar Omar, Hale Peterke, Lloyd Wallace, and Chen Bi.

Fenwick Gallery hosts new exhibition: Generation Lines

Fenwick Gallery hosts “Generation Lines,” an exhibition featuring George Mason art and poetry students 

FAIRFAX, VA – February 2022: Fenwick Gallery at George Mason University is pleased to host “Generation Lines,” an exhibition of visual art and poetry featuring Mason art and creative writing students. The exhibition is on view in Fenwick Gallery through Sunday, March 20 with a closing reception on Thursday, March 10. Visit fenwickgallery.gmu.edu to learn more. 

The unit of the line, which is so essential in poetry and in drawing, painting, and design, connects the linguistic and visual modes and provides a site for evocative resistance to sense or order. “Generation Lines” gathers work from MFA and BFA artists and creative writers at Mason, and developed out of a course where the students explored visual thinking in poetry and poetics, as well as uses of poetry in visual art and design. They made work individually and collaboratively in a wide variety of visual media, including artist books, photobooks, and comics. These works connect to family history, to the body, and to visual perception and aesthetic experience itself.  

“Generation Lines” is curated by Chen Bi (Fenwick Gallery Graduate Assistant and MFA student) and Heather Green (Assistant Professor, School of Art), with exhibition assistance from Stephanie Grimm. 

“Generation Lines” is on display in Fenwick Gallery, located in Fenwick Library on Mason’s Fairfax campus. The gallery is open during business hours; see the Libraries’ website at http://library.gmu.edu for the most accurate and up-to-date information. 

For more information on this exhibition at Fenwick Gallery, contact Stephanie Grimm, Art and Art History Librarian, at sgrimm4@gmu.edu. For general inquiries about the University Libraries or George Mason University, contact Jessica Clark, Development and Communications Officer, at jclarkw@gmu.edu