Stetson University’s Homer and Dolly Hand Art Center is opening its arms wide this summer with this message to the community: “Welcome!” Its three galleries are specially designed to entertain and interact with visitors of all ages, particularly families, who can experience the art separately, but in close proximity. Each gallery showcases something different.
The Main Hall houses the quirky “Into the Bowl: Curating Toiletpaper Magazine,” curated, cultivated and transformed into a playground by Stetson alumni. It’s a fun and insightful look at how art exhibitions are born.
In the Bluemner Gallery, children will find “Squares, Swirls and Saturation: Oscar Bluemner’s Landscapes,” an interactive exhibition with free arts and crafts activities, allowing them to draw, play at a chalk wall, make magnetic buildings, and go on an art-themed scavenger hunt.
The Gary Libby Gallery features rarely seen artwork from the Permanent Collection, some by local artists. Among those artists are Ron Meyers, Gary Bolding, Brenda Star and Sean Erwin. The exhibit is called “Dusting Off: Pieces From the Permanent Collection.”
The Hand Art Center has a new director, Natália Marques da Silva, who joined Stetson in February of this year.
“We want to contribute to the cultural landscape in DeLand,” said da Silva. “There are wonderful places to enjoy art in our community, and we are one of those places. I think the summer is a great time to have an inspiring conversation about art — for all ages — with our community.”
The Hand Art Center is at 139 E. Michigan Ave., on the Stetson campus. Hours are 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, and noon-4 p.m. Saturday. The exhibits close Friday, Aug. 25. Admission is free.
Complimentary parking is available in the East Arizona Avenue parking lot off of Amelia Avenue and in visitor parking spaces throughout campus.
Call 386-822-7271 or visit handartcenter.org for more information.
