Q&A with Photographer Jared Ragland
WMA recently announced the launch of an online exhibition, What Has Been Will Be Again, by photographer Jared Ragland. Between 2020–2021 Ragland traveled across more than 15,000 miles and 50 counties in his home state of Alabama to photograph during a critical moment of pandemic and protest, economic uncertainty, and political polarization. The interactive exhibition […]
WMA announces the launch of What Has Been Will Be Again, an Online Exhibition by Photographer Jared Ragland
The Wiregrass Museum of Art announces the launch of an online exhibition, What Has Been Will Be Again, by photographer Jared Ragland. Between 2020–2021 Ragland traveled across more than 15,000 miles and 50 counties in his home state of Alabama to photograph during a critical moment of pandemic and protest, economic uncertainty, and political polarization. […]
WMA Announces Artists Selected for ‘B22: Wiregrass Biennial’
WMA announces its selection of 37 works of art from 38 artists from across the Southeast U.S. for its upcoming juried exhibition, B22: Wiregrass Biennial, to open this summer on July 21st at Art After Hours. The Wiregrass Biennial is a juried exhibition open to all artists living and working in the Southeast over 18 […]
New exhibitions to open at Art After Hours
WMA will open new exhibitions on the evening of Thursday, April 21 at its monthly Art After Hours event, which will be on view until June 25, 2022. Sonya Yong James: The Eye of a Needle features an installation of works from the Atlanta-based artist, with a focus on repurposed cloth and thread as mediums […]
WMA Reinvigorates Collection with Spanish Language and Photo Labels
WMA has recently launched a new initiative to make its Permanent Collection more accessible for its visitors. Labels for Permanent Collection objects, located in its Entrance Galleries and on long term display, now have added interpreted text in Spanish, and have provided photos of the artists whose works are displayed. These labels allow visitors and […]
WMA receives technology and publication awards at 2020 Southeastern Museums Conference
DOTHAN, Alabama – November 5, 2020 – The Wiregrass Museum of Art (WMA) is the recipient of five awards at the 2020 Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC), including three in the technology category and two in publications. Award winners were recognized at SEMC’s annual conference, held virtually this year in October. The designations recognize WMA’s contribution to professional […]
‘Sara Garden Armstrong: Threads and Layers’ set to open October 16 at WMA
DOTHAN, Alabama — October 13, 2020 — “Sara Garden Armstrong: Threads and Layers,” an exhibition surveying works by Alabama native Sara Garden Armstrong, will open at the Wiregrass Museum of Art (WMA) on October 16. The exhibition represents an artistic legacy in Alabama and New York spanning six decades, bringing together handmade artist books, paintings, sculpture, and mechanical, light- and […]
WMA announces prize winners for ‘B20: Wiregrass Biennial’
DOTHAN, Alabama — September 30, 2020 — The Wiregrass Museum of Art (WMA) has named six artists to receive awards for work included in the exhibition “B20: Wiregrass Biennial,” the museum’s first virtual exhibition. The Judge’s Prize will be given to Lauren O’Connor-Korb (Athens, Georgia) for her sculpture “The Soloist,” and the Alabama Prize will go to Jasper […]
B20 Artist Interview with Tara Stallworth Lee
B20: Wiregrass Biennial is a juried exhibition that encourages innovative and progressive work and showcases the South’s most talented contemporary artists, illustrating the region’s rich cultural heritage. Selected work utilizes a variety of art forms and media, including paintings, sculptures, mixed media, new media, and installation art. Three jurors chose from a field of over 130 entries for […]
B20 Artist Interview with Lilian Garcia-Roig
B20: Wiregrass Biennial is a juried exhibition that encourages innovative and progressive work and showcases the South’s most talented contemporary artists, illustrating the region’s rich cultural heritage. Selected work utilizes a variety of art forms and media, including paintings, sculptures, mixed media, new media, and installation art. Three jurors chose from a field of over 130 entries for […]
B20 Artist Interview with Heidi Carlsen-Rogers
B20: Wiregrass Biennial is a juried exhibition that encourages innovative and progressive work and showcases the South’s most talented contemporary artists, illustrating the region’s rich cultural heritage. Selected work utilizes a variety of art forms and media, including paintings, sculptures, mixed media, new media, and installation art. Three jurors chose from a field of over 130 entries for […]
B20 Artist Interview with Jessica Caldas
B20: Wiregrass Biennial is a juried exhibition that encourages innovative and progressive work and showcases the South’s most talented contemporary artists, illustrating the region’s rich cultural heritage. Selected work utilizes a variety of art forms and media, including paintings, sculptures, mixed media, new media, and installation art. Three jurors chose from a field of over 130 entries for […]
B20 Artist Interview with Maggie Evans
B20: Wiregrass Biennial is a juried exhibition that encourages innovative and progressive work and showcases the South’s most talented contemporary artists, illustrating the region’s rich cultural heritage. Selected work utilizes a variety of art forms and media, including paintings, sculptures, mixed media, new media, and installation art. Three jurors chose from a field of over 130 entries for […]
B20 Artist Interview with Jasper Lee
B20: Wiregrass Biennial is a juried exhibition that encourages innovative and progressive work and showcases the South’s most talented contemporary artists, illustrating the region’s rich cultural heritage. Selected work utilizes a variety of art forms and media, including paintings, sculptures, mixed media, new media, and installation art. Three jurors chose from a field of over 130 entries for […]
B20 Artist Interview with Jonathan Adams
B20: Wiregrass Biennial is a juried exhibition that encourages innovative and progressive work and showcases the South’s most talented contemporary artists, illustrating the region’s rich cultural heritage. Selected work utilizes a variety of art forms and media, including paintings, sculptures, mixed media, new media, and installation art. Three jurors chose from a field of over 130 entries for […]
B20 Artist Interview with Chieko Murasugi
B20: Wiregrass Biennial is a juried exhibition that encourages innovative and progressive work and showcases the South’s most talented contemporary artists, illustrating the region’s rich cultural heritage. Selected work utilizes a variety of art forms and media, including paintings, sculptures, mixed media, new media, and installation art. Three jurors chose from a field of over 130 entries for […]
B20 Artist Interview with Bryce Lafferty
B20: Wiregrass Biennial is a juried exhibition that encourages innovative and progressive work and showcases the South’s most talented contemporary artists, illustrating the region’s rich cultural heritage. Selected work utilizes a variety of art forms and media, including paintings, sculptures, mixed media, new media, and installation art. Three jurors chose from a field of over 130 entries for […]
B20 Artist Interview with Sarah Bryant
B20: Wiregrass Biennial is a juried exhibition that encourages innovative and progressive work and showcases the South’s most talented contemporary artists, illustrating the region’s rich cultural heritage. Selected work utilizes a variety of art forms and media, including paintings, sculptures, mixed media, new media, and installation art. Three jurors chose from a field of over 130 entries for […]
B20 Artist Interview with Kelly Boehmer
B20: Wiregrass Biennial is a juried exhibition that encourages innovative and progressive work and showcases the South’s most talented contemporary artists, illustrating the region’s rich cultural heritage. Selected work utilizes a variety of art forms and media, including paintings, sculptures, mixed media, new media, and installation art. Three jurors chose from a field of over 130 entries for […]
B20 Artist Interview with Leah Hamel
B20: Wiregrass Biennial is a juried exhibition that encourages innovative and progressive work and showcases the South’s most talented contemporary artists, illustrating the region’s rich cultural heritage. Selected work utilizes a variety of art forms and media, including paintings, sculptures, mixed media, new media, and installation art. Three jurors chose from a field of over 130 entries […]
B20 Artist Interview with Carrie Ann Baade
B20: Wiregrass Biennial is a juried exhibition that encourages innovative and progressive work and showcases the South’s most talented contemporary artists, illustrating the region’s rich cultural heritage. Selected work utilizes a variety of art forms and media, including paintings, sculptures, mixed media, new media, and installation art. Three jurors chose from a field of over 130 entries […]
B20 Artist Interview with Andrea Vail
B20: Wiregrass Biennial is a juried exhibition that encourages innovative and progressive work and showcases the South’s most talented contemporary artists, illustrating the region’s rich cultural heritage. Selected work utilizes a variety of art forms and media, including paintings, sculptures, mixed media, new media, and installation art. Three jurors chose from a field of over 130 […]
B20 Artist Interview with Victoria Sauer
B20: Wiregrass Biennial is a juried exhibition that encourages innovative and progressive work and showcases the South’s most talented contemporary artists, illustrating the region’s rich cultural heritage. Selected work utilizes a variety of art forms and media, including paintings, sculptures, mixed media, new media, and installation art. Three jurors chose from a field of over 130 […]
B20 Artist Interview with Mär Martinez
B20: Wiregrass Biennial is a juried exhibition that encourages innovative and progressive work and showcases the South’s most talented contemporary artists, illustrating the region’s rich cultural heritage. Selected work utilizes a variety of art forms and media, including paintings, sculptures, mixed media, new media, and installation art. Three jurors chose from a field of over 130 entries for […]
‘B20: Wiregrass Biennial’ set for a virtual opening at WMA
DOTHAN, Alabama — July 14, 2020 — The Wiregrass Museum of Art announces the opening of the virtual exhibition, “B20: Wiregrass Biennial” on July 16 at wiregrassbiennial.com/. WMA’s biennial showcases the South’s most talented contemporary artists, illustrating the region’s rich cultural heritage. The juried exhibition encourages innovative and progressive work that utilizes a variety of art […]
Wells Fargo lends support to WMA for artist programs and virtual offerings
WMA has received support from Wells Fargo for museum programs and virtual offerings that respond to the community needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. A grant in the amount of $5,000 provided funding for digital lessons and activities, including “art breaks” on social media and special content from artists. This funding will also support arts-based learning […]
WMA Artist Interview with Laura Lucía Sanz
The exhibition Path of Entry was to have opened at WMA this spring, but due to the temporary closure of the museum, it was postponed until next year. The group show, featuring artists from around the world and guest curated by Chintia Kirana, was inspired by the poem “Remember” by U.S. poet laureate Jo Harjo, […]
WMA Artist Interview with Karen Stentaford
The exhibition Path of Entry was to have opened at WMA this spring, but due to the temporary closure of the museum, it was postponed until next year. The group show, featuring artists from around the world and guest curated by Chintia Kirana, was inspired by the poem “Remember” by U.S. poet laureate Jo Harjo, […]
WMA Artist Interview with Chintia Kirana
The exhibition Path of Entry was to have opened at WMA this spring, but due to the temporary closure of the museum, it was postponed until next year. The group show, featuring artists from around the world and guest curated by Chintia Kirana, was inspired by the poem “Remember” by U.S. poet laureate Jo Harjo, […]
WMA Artist Interview with Path of Entry artist Joe Ren
The exhibition Path of Entry was to have opened at WMA this spring, but due to the temporary closure of the museum, it was postponed until next year. The group show, featuring artists from around the world and guest curated by Chintia Kirana, was inspired by the poem “Remember” by U.S. poet laureate Jo Harjo, […]
WMA Artist Interview with Bethany Johnson
Get to know Path of Entry artist Bethany Johnson The exhibition Path of Entry was to have opened at WMA this spring, but due to the temporary closure of the museum, it was postponed until next year. The group show, featuring artists from around the world and guest curated by Chintia Kirana, was inspired by […]
WMA Artist-in-Residence Lily Reeves Launches “Spirit Kin”
Above Image: Lily Reeves, from her series Spirit Kin, Image courtesy the artist WMA artist-in-residence Lily Reeves was to have launched her new project Spirit Kin in the Wiregrass this spring. Due to the museum’s temporary closure and travel restrictions, the residency became a virtual one, and Reeves presented her work during an artist takeover of WMA’s Instagram account May […]
Artist Profile – Beverly West Leach
Beverly West Leach’s work is currently on display at WMA, in the exhibition Telling on Myself: Recent Works by Beverly West Leach. Due to the museum’s temporary closure, the exhibition has been extended through September 2020. Here she discusses her work in more detail. What inspires you most? Well, many things and topics inspire me, […]
WMA’s Impact: Art + Technology
Arts organizations overwhelmingly agree: Technology and social media have made art a more participatory experience, and have helped make art audiences more diverse1. What happens when technology and social media are the primary ways to engage with art? WMA is responding rapidly to offer its community ways to engage with, learn from, and connect with […]
Synchronized Swimmers – An interview with artist Jenny Fine
Jenny Fine is a visual artist and professor currently living and working in Enterprise, Alabama. Rooted in the photographic form, Fine’s practice employs time as material in an exploration of both personal and cultural memory, identity, and our shifting relationship to the photograph in our digital, image-saturated age. In Synchronized Swimmers, Fine explores her personal [...]
WMA’s Impact: Art + Tourism
Did you know that 68% of all tourism in the U.S. is driven by art, cultural heritage, and history?¹ Tourism drives economic growth, strengthens regional identity, and increases human connection. Importantly, cultural tourists spend nearly twice as much as other travelers, creating greater impact in the areas they visit! Last month, WMA opened two new […]
Wiregrass Museum of Art launches the WMA App
DOTHAN, Alabama – January 29, 2020 – The Wiregrass Museum of Art (WMA) is pleased to announce it has launched the WMA App for Apple and Android mobile devices. WMA worked with PushCrankPress (PCP), a Dothan-based design agency, to develop the app to deliver additional content about exhibitions, artists, and programming to both museum guests and offsite users. […]
Why Does WMA Matter to You?
Dear Friends of WMA: We at Wiregrass Museum of Art care deeply about making the art and programming we share meaningful to you, our community, and all our visitors. But we need your help! To learn more about how visitors like you engage with us, we are participating in a national survey of museum-goers, sponsored […]
WMA’s winter exhibitions to feature Alabama artists
DOTHAN, Alabama – January 9, 2020 – The Wiregrass Museum of Art (WMA) is pleased to announce it will feature work from two Alabama artists during its winter quarter of exhibitions. Jenny Fine’s Synchronized Swimmers and Beverly West Leach’s Telling on Myself are set to open on January 16 at Art After Hours (5:30-8 p.m.) […]
WMA’s Impact: Art + PreK-12 Education
Did you know that a single field trip to an art museum can help students learn new skills? A recent study from The National Art Education Association (NAEA) Museum Education Division and its partner, the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), shows that inquiry-based field trip experiences at an art museum help students learn crucial […]
Alabama State Council on the Arts awards $11,200 to WMA
DOTHAN, Alabama – December 17, 2019 – The Wiregrass Museum of Art (WMA) is pleased to announce it has been awarded two grants totaling $11,200 from the Alabama State Council on the Arts. Two equal awards of $5,600 will be used to support WMA’s public art programming and new artist residencies in 2020, as well […]
WMA’s Impact: Art + Economic Development
Did you know the arts play a significant role in regional economic development? The arts spark growth and innovation by creating a fast-growth, dynamic business sector; helping mature industries become more competitive; providing critical ingredients for innovative places; catalyzing community revitalization; and delivering a better prepared workforce.1 At the Wiregrass Museum of Art, we’re grateful […]
Get to know ceramic artist Jessica Smith
This summer, WMA’s communications intern, Harley Masoner, set out to learn more about ceramic artist Jessica Smith, whose exhibition, In Flux, is on display in the Dove Gallery through the end of the year. Smith will teach a Visiting Artist Workshop on Saturday, November 16. In the one-day class, students will create a functional plate […]
WMA’s Impact: Art + Empowered Conversation
Did you know visual art empowers people by making space for needed conversation? Art helps us critically and creatively imagine our communities.1 Students recently experienced this kind of empowering conversation in action at WMA. During 17 summer field trips to the museum, 664 students took in Carolyn DeMeritt’s portraits of Native American tribe members as part […]
Indigenous Peoples’ Day — a guest post by Jared Ragland
Today, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, is being honored as communities across the US thoughtfully reexamine our national history, critically question privileged Western narratives, and celebrate the native peoples of North America. To help mark the occasion and contribute to the national conversation, Cary Norton and I are delighted to guest here on #wmaINSPIRED and share photographs […]
Alabama State Council on the Arts awards $10,000 to WMA
DOTHAN, Alabama – September 24, 2019 – The Wiregrass Museum of Art (WMA) is pleased to announce that the Alabama State Council on the Arts (ASCA) has awarded the museum a combined grant in the amount of $10,000 for an upcoming exhibition and an annual youth education program. The award designates $3,800 for a 2020 exhibition […]
Five questions with photographer Sean Crutchfield
Film photographer Sean Crutchfield spends hours each day traveling down dirt roads and blue highways, exploring rural communities near his home in Graceville, Florida. He peers through the lens of his Leica M3 camera, swapping out lenses and types of film to see the variety of images he can capture, noticing physical reminders of the […]
WMA’s Art After Hours celebrates summer exhibitions
DOTHAN, Alabama – July 18, 2019 – The Wiregrass Museum of Art (WMA) is pleased to announce the opening of its summer exhibitions, “As Long as the Waters Flow: Native Americans in the South and East,” featuring photographs of Native American communities by Carolyn DeMeritt; “Sight Lines,” a multi-media installation by artists Katie Hargrave and Meredith Lynn; and […]
On the road with artists Katie Hargrave and Meredith Lynn
Even with WMA’s spring quarter still in full swing, the museum’s staff is hard at work making final arrangements for summer exhibitions. Included in the upcoming schedule is Sight Lines, a collaborative project by artists Katie Hargrave and Meredith Lynn, that “explores the mediation of nature through the lens, the vehicle, air conditioning–through modern machines.” […]
Get to Know Artist Carlton Nell
WMA’s exhibition Carlton Nell: Compositions showcases large-scale, abstracted landscapes by artist Carlton Nell. Nell is a professor at Auburn University and his paintings have been exhibited in museums and galleries nationwide and are included in various public and private collections. His illustrations have appeared in numerous publications, most recently on the cover of the historical […]
‘Continuum: 1808 to 2017/ Goya to Erdreich’ examines the effects of war and violence
DOTHAN, Alabama – April 11, 2019 – The Wiregrass Museum of Art (WMA) is pleased to announce the opening of Continuum: 1808-2017/Goya to Erdreich on the evening of Thursday, April 18 at WMA’s spring quarter Art After Hours event. The exhibition, comprised of a series of mixed-media works by artist Beverly Erdreich, takes an unflinching look at […]
‘Where You Come From is Gone’ to document Native American sites in the Wiregrass
DOTHAN, Alabama – April 4, 2019 – The Wiregrass Museum of Art (WMA) is pleased to announce that Birmingham, Alabama-based photographers Cary Norton and Jared Ragland, collectively known as GUSDUGGER, will be in residence at WMA April 18-20. The residency, a regional extension of Norton and Ragland’s project Where You Come From is Gone, will […]
Get to Know Artist Sheri Schumacher
Sheri Schumacher is a designer and educator whose work is at the interface of architecture, public-interest design, and craft practices. In her WMA exhibition, textile | assemblage | place, Schumacher sets out to “map” the sensory experience of place by recording cultural landscapes with textiles. Schumacher uses repurposed materials, including linens and clothing in her work, often combining them […]
Get to know artist Sydney A. Foster
WMA had a chance to sit down and chat with artist Sydney A. Foster this past January while she was in Dothan installing her current exhibition, Walks in the South. In 2016, while walking through downtown Montgomery on her lunch break, Sydney was compelled to begin photographing people she met along the way. The series, […]
“Home: Where I Live” offers a glimpse into homelessness in Dothan
DOTHAN, Alabama – January 16, 2019 – The Wiregrass Museum of Art is pleased to announce the opening of Home: Where I Live on the evening of January 17 at Art After Hours. Home explores the unique perspective of Dothan and Wiregrass area citizens that are either homeless or housing insecure. Artists were each given a […]
Charity Ponter on “Ground Beneath My Feet: Collaborative Portraits with Visual Artists in My Hometown”
We recently asked Birmingham, Alabama-based artist Charity Ponter a few questions about her exhibition, Ground Beneath My Feet: Collaborative Portraits with Visual Artists in My Hometown, on display now in the Coleman Gallery at WMA. She published the series of photographs that make up the show in a book by the same name earlier this year, a […]
Just eight days left to see “Echoes” at WMA
WMA is hosting a unique exhibition this quarter, and there are only a few more days to take it all in. Echoes: A response to objects in WMA’s permanent collection by the Alabama Women’s Caucus for Art is the first exhibition in WMA’s history to feature artworks created in response to or inspired by pieces in […]
WMA announces ‘B18: Wiregrass Biennial’ award winners
The Wiregrass Museum of Art is pleased to announce two exhibition award winners for the recently closed B18: Wiregrass Biennial. The Judge’s Prize will be given to Elysia Mann for her weaving, Reading Narcissus; and the People’s Choice Award goes to Chiharu Roach for her painting, My American Ears. The Judge’s Prize winner was chosen by Douglas Pierre Baulos, […]
Get to know the artists of ‘B18: Wiregrass Biennial’ – Part 5 (final segment)
WMA asked several of the 41 artists whose work is currently on display in B18: Wiregrass Biennial to answer questions about their artistic practice. This is the last post in our five-part series of B18 artist interviews on the #wmaINSPIRED blog. If you have missed the previous four, you can find them archived on the blog. Thanks […]
Get to know the artists of ‘B18: Wiregrass Biennial’ – Part 4
WMA asked several of the 41 artists whose work is currently on display in B18: Wiregrass Biennial to answer questions about their artistic practice. Get to know them better during the next few posts here on the #wmaINSPIRED blog. Jacob Phillips – Dothan, Alabama Suspended Memory, 2018 Spanish moss, cheese cloth, paint, wire, audio WMA: Tell us about […]
WMA receives $6,300 grant from Alabama State Council on the Arts
DOTHAN, Alabama – September 25, 2018 – The Wiregrass Museum of Art (WMA) is pleased to announce it has received an award in the amount of $6,300 from the Alabama State Council on the Arts (ASCA). The award will be used to support the museum’s mission of connecting contemporary artists in Alabama with the Wiregrass […]
Get to know the artists of ‘B18: Wiregrass Biennial’ – Part 3
WMA asked several of the 41 artists whose work is currently on display in B18: Wiregrass Biennial to answer questions about their artistic practice. Get to know them better during the next few posts here on the #wmaINSPIRED blog. Amy Fleming – Tallahassee, Florida Florence, 2018 Screen print, drawing WMA: Tell us about your work in B18. […]
Get to know the artists of ‘B18: Wiregrass Biennial’ – Part 2
WMA asked several of the 41 artists whose work is currently on display in B18: Wiregrass Biennial to answer questions about their artistic practice. Get to know them better during the next few posts here on the #wmaINSPIRED blog. Vivian Liddell – Athens, Georgia Troll with Talisman, 2016 Soft sculpture with embroidered fabric, googly eyes, and synthetic […]
Get to know the artists of ‘B18: Wiregrass Biennial’ – Part 1
WMA asked several of the 41 artists whose work is currently on display in B18: Wiregrass Biennial to answer questions about their artistic practice. Get to know them better during the next few posts here on the #wmaINSPIRED blog. Tom Wegrzynowski – Tuscaloosa, Alabama The Death of Caesar, 2017 Oil on canvas WMA: Tell us about your […]
‘Alabama Reckoner’ honors the state’s living artists and unique ecology
DOTHAN, Ala. – April 11, 2017- The Wiregrass Museum of Art (WMA) announces the opening of “Alabama Reckoner,” featuring the work of Birmingham-based artist Douglas Pierre Baulos. The exhibition is an exploration of Baulos’ process-driven work and the role the state of Alabama plays in his art. “Alabama Reckoner” will present twelve mixed-media portraits of […]