NMAT students, faculty, represent campus in Richmond exhibition

KOKOMO, Ind. - Indiana University Kokomo was well represented in an exhibit featuring artists from Indiana and Ohio, with work by two faculty, one current student, and one recent alumna selected for inclusion.

Minda Douglas, associate professor of fine art, received the Kevin McCurdy and Lisa Caiazzo Purchase Award for her print "Monarch Watch," in the 127^th Annual Exhibition by Indiana and Ohio Artists, hosted by the Richmond Art Museum. Anna Marcum, BFA '25, received the Johnson Family Merit Award for her self-portrait, and had another painting selected.

Aaron Pickens, associate professor of fine art and new media, had two oil paintings juried into the show, while junior Zoe Callender had one painting, "Market Fish," selected.

"This is a good indication of the quality of work that's coming out of the IU Kokomo program," said Pickens, adding that applying for exhibitions is part of the process of being a working artist.

"Hopefully this can be more of a regular thing, getting students to exhibit their work outside of campus and our immediate area," he said. "Getting validation from outside that your work has merit, it validates what the students are doing. It gives them a boost of confidence and allows them to have a feeling what they are doing has meaning, and they're moving in the right direction."

Callender, from Delphi, attended the opening reception at the museum, and enjoyed seeing her work displayed with that of professional artists.

"For any artist, getting your work shown in an exhibition is very affirming for the place you are in your career," she said.

She submitted her final work from a painting class, an oil painting of colorful fish in a market, that is a commentary on the overconsumption of food animals.

"I hadn't been much of a painter before this class, so it shows my growth in that medium," she said.

Pickens said Callender and Marcum both exhibited in the amateur division, in which Marcum submitted two pieces from the spring 2025 senior thesis exhibition. He noted that two additional students applied and were not accepted, which is also a valuable experience.

"Being an artist, that's the way it is," he said. "We apply to a lot of shows and some years our success rate of being in a juried exhibition is good, and sometimes it's not. You have to put your work out there and submit to different opportunities. Maybe it's not the right fit for this particular exhibition, or maybe it took up too much space for the specific event. It's not necessarily a diss on the quality of the work."

Pickens has two plein air paintings chosen - one of some dried corn that he and his wife grew, and one looking out the doorway of a barn.

"I did several still lifes within that space. I liked the light streaming through an open doorway," he said. "I liked the way the light was illuminating it and making something kind of mundane or that you would walk past. You can find beauty in it."

The exhibition continues through January 10, 2026 at the Richmond Art Museum, 350 Hub Etchinson Parkway, Richmond, Indiana, 47374. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, go to richmondartmusuem.org.

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