UA’s Paul Jones Gallery Features K-12 Artists from Tuscaloosa

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Students from Tuscaloosa Magnet Middle School and University Place Elementary School will display their artwork at The University of Alabama’s Paul R. Jones Gallery of Art from Nov. 22 to Dec. 21 as part of the Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art’s K-12 Fellows Program.

The exhibit, “Our Voice, Our World,” is made up of roughly 60 student pieces, many of which were created in response to works they had previously seen from the Jones collection in October.

Students from Tuscaloosa Magnet Middle largely focused on portraiture, while the students from University Place Elementary principally focused on Native American art.

The public is invited to attend the exhibit free of charge.

The Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art’s K-12 Fellowship Program, established in 2014, works with Tuscaloosa City Schools to foster an interest in art among young students while building community through the public display of fine art in line with students’ interests.

“This program teaches schoolchildren that creativity is vital to society and that art is a very effective method for expressing one’s unique voice,” said Dr. Lucy Curzon, an associate professor in the department of art and art history.

Each year, the program provides support for teachers to bring students to the gallery, offers curricular assistance through the placement of UA student interns in K-12 classrooms, and hosts a showcase of work—inspired by the collection—by K-12 students at the gallery at the end of the fellowship cycle.

The gallery honors the late Paul R. Jones who, during his lifetime, amassed one of the largest collections of African-American art in the world. The Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art at UA includes more than 2,100 works valued at $10.3 million, which Jones donated to UA in 2008.

The Paul R. Jones Gallery is located at 2308 6th Street in downtown Tuscaloosa. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the first Friday of every month from noon to 8 p.m.

The Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art is part of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes, Goldwater and Fulbright scholarships.