ELIZABETH SUSKI
Special to The Leader
SUNY Fredonia will be welcoming Melanie Walker as part of the Visiting Artist Program on Sept. 27.
The Visiting Artist Program (VAP) is a class that Barbara Räcker coordinates through the Visual Arts Department.
Räcker is the gallery director at the Marion Art Gallery and Fredonia Technology Incubator.
She is in charge of curating the exhibits and speakers that are shared on campus.
“Usually they [the artists] are picked by who people are interested in, or by budget. But I’m always open for suggestions,” she said.
Artists are also picked by how much they relate to the current exhibitions that are on display.
A lot of the artists whose work is displayed are older or deceased.
“Students were unhappy about the lack of diversity, since most visitors were white, middle aged men,” Räcker said.
This is mainly why Walker was picked to visit Fredonia.
Walker has been practicing art for over 50 years. She primarily focuses on photography, but also uses installations and computers.
She has been awarded several times, receiving the NEA Visual Arts Fellowship award, Colorado Council on the Arts Fellowship award and an Aaron Siskind award. Walker even spent time as a SUNY professor at the University of Albany.
She is also known for collaborating with a lot of other artists. “I think it’s good for students to learn about those kind of projects [collaborations]” Räcker said.
The program is a real eye-opener, especially for the art students.
The program is open to everyone: students, professors and the community. The lectures are usually at 8:30 p.m. Racker said, “A lot of undergraduate students haven’t been exposed, so this helps.”
Walker, like many other visiting artists, often gives advice to the students. “They will talk about getting jobs, getting into galleries and how to even get jobs in the studios of famous artists,” Räcker said.
Walker’s lecture will be on Sept. 27 from 8:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. in McEwen Hall, 209.
For more information on the artist, herself, visit www.melaniewalkerartist.com.