A gallery trip to remember

 I, like many others, grew up in a home that not only housed our family, it also housed the "room." The magical space I dared not enter without permission and once inside, I knew better than to touch anything unless specifically asked to do so. My voice would immediately become softer when I entered the room and upon exiting I was amazed that I had found more beauty than I remembered from the time before. I am delighted to report that we, members of the Winston-Salem State University family, also have a magical room, Diggs Gallery. While it is much larger and less comfortably furnished, it has the same respect-commanding aura that I remember from that "room" in my childhood. 

As a student in Ms. Althea Bradford's English Composition I class, one of our first assignments was a field trip to the gallery. The purpose of this outing was two-fold: Ms. Bradford wanted us to gain exposure to Diggs Gallery and secondly, we were to review the works of Charles Searles and choose two pieces for our exposition papers. On Sept. 11, our class met at the gallery, conveniently located on the ground floor of the C. G.  O'Kelly Library. Mrs. Dara Silver, Visitor Services and Installation Manager, began our tour by advising us of the rules. Which, surprisingly enough, were reminiscent of the ones I remember fondly from childhood.

After the initial greeting, my classmates and I took a few minutes to view the works of Searles; which were comprised of both paintings and sculptures. According to Mrs. Silver, even after making a second appearance this year, the exhibition was extremely well received. She said gallery visitors seemed to especially enjoy the colors and variety. The exhibit closed on Sept. 25 with well over a thousand visitors viewing the works of a master artist in a showing called "Charles Searles: Universal Reflections of Color and Rhythm: A Retrospective Exposition."

The next exhibit, "Young Americans: Photographs by Sheila Pree Bright" runs from Oct. 16 – March 6, 2010 and consists of portraits of 18-25 year old Americans, each posing with an American flag. Fifteen of the forty-four large chromogenic prints will feature students from Winston-Salem State University. In addition, the senior thesis show, opening in the spring, is devoted entirely to the works of WSSU seniors. Make a point of finding the "magical room" on our campus and see if there are not reflections of your life displayed through art.