WT Workshop to Offer Aspiring Artists Invaluable Tips in Handling, Installing Pieces

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, [email protected]

CANYON, Texas - Experts in handling works of precious beauty will offer a two-day workshop at West Texas A&M University.

Alison Ward Heinemeier and Shane Heinemeier of Kingsbury Museum Crating will host an art handlers workshop Feb. 18 and 19 in Room 185 of Mary Moody Northen Hall on WT's Canyon campus. The event is free, open to the public and cohosted by the Department of Art, Theatre and Dance in WT's Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities and Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum.

The Heinemeiers will offer an in-depth introduction to art handling and crating techniques and career opportunities for artists, said organizer Misty Gamble, the Steven Mayes Professor of Visual Arts.

"Participants will learn essential art handling skills, covering best practices for packing, crating, and installing various types of artwork," Gamble said. "In addition to practical skills, the workshop introduces the concept of art handling as a flexible, rewarding career that allows artists to support themselves financially while developing their own work."

The workshop will feature four sessions on hanging two- and three-dimensional artwork, how to soft pack artwork, and crating methods.

The Heinemeiers founded Habitable Spaces, a nonprofit artist residency on their family land, in 2012 and Kingsbury Museum Crating in 2023.

Alongside her studio work, Alison Ward Heinemeier has worked with Vault FAS, Austin Art Services, the McNay Museum, and the Linda Pace Foundation, and co-founded. Her work has been shown internationally at institutions including the Queens Museum, Bronx Museum, CCCB in Spain, RAW Space in Australia, and Castlefield Gallery in England.

Shane Heinemeier has shown at Joan Grona Gallery and Blue Star gallery in San Antonio, and the Dumbo Arts Center, English Kills Gallery, Flux Factory gallery and Studio 111 in New York. He has done residencies at The Islington Mill in Manchester, England, and Flux Factory in New York City.

For information, contact Gamble at [email protected].

Fostering an appreciation of the arts is a key component of the University's long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign, which is now winding down, has raised more than $175 million.

About West Texas A&M University

A Regional Research University, West Texas A&M University is redefining excellence in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor's and master's degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. WT recently earned a Carnegie Foundation classification as a Research College and University. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 16 men's and women's athletics programs.

-WT-