This summer, the Crisp-Ellert Art Museum and Flagler College announce this year’s edition of the juried alumni exhibition Calling Home: Directions to Reminiscence. The exhibition will open to the public with a reception on Friday, June 2 from 5-8 PM, in conjunction with First Friday Art Walk.

Curated by Dr. Chris Balaschak’s Spring 2023 Curatorial Studies class, the students selected artworks from a pool of alumni submissions. The class looked for a shared thread between many potential artworks, from vulnerable portrayals of identity to the exercise of artistic prowess. While the paths of these alumni may never have crossed on campus, at some point in their lives each called Flagler College their home. Calling Home focuses on this shared sense of home, grounded specifically in the campus and St. Augustine. Exhibiting the work of nineteen artists from graduating classes ranging over two decades prior, Calling Home spotlights the creative talent produced by Flagler’s Department of Visual Arts.

Curatorial students chose artworks that explored themes of home and place—specifically, what it means to become and live as a St. Augustine local or a Floridian more broadly, but also how ideas of place and belonging reverberate in our everyday lives. Artworks range from a fascination with the natural world-- scenes involving Florida’s landscape-- to intimate expressions of domestic life. Using both photography, painting, ceramic, found objects, and other media, Calling Home delves into the significance location has on life experience. For instance, the exhibition looks at everyday experiences encountered in St. Augustine’s coastal community— from the scenery and weather to customs such as spring break festivities. Together, Calling Home connects various experiences of home and belonging.

Calling Home features work from artists Matthew Batty, a collaboration between Danielle Brodersen & Lauren Ytterbom, Shelby Clark, Olivia Clemons, Libby Couch, Rachel de Cuba, Maggie Dillon, Shauna Gentile, Jenn Gulgren, Katelyn Gummere, Rae Hull, Rachel Lee, Alexa Lisanti, MC Pressure, Sara Pedigo, Breanne Rupp, Kelly Speakman, and Zach Thomas.

In collaboration with Flagler College’s Crisp- Ellert Art Museum, this exhibition was curated by Dr. Chris Balaschak’s Spring 2023 Curatorial Studies class: Ashley Westrem, Mariah Torres, Helena Rodriguez, Jenny Pack, Jessica Lubbers, Kate Jenkins, Alexi Chennells, and Tabitha Champney. The exhibition is supported by Flagler College and the Crisp- Ellert Art Museum, as well as the Visual and Performing Arts Advisory Board.

The Crisp-Ellert Art Museum is an accessible building. If you are a person with a disability and need reasonable accommodations, please contact Phil Pownall at 904-819-6460. Sign Language Interpreters are available upon request with a minimum of three days’ notice.

For further information on CEAM programming, please visit the website at www.flagler.edu/ceam, or contact Julie Dickover at 904-826-8530 or crispellert@flagler.edu.

The museum’s hours during June are Monday through Friday, 10 AM to 4 PM, and will be closed during the months of July and August.