By Jahnez Chung and Jordan Fitzpatrick | Talon Staff

Tallahassee Community College students should visit the TCC Fine Art Gallery to experience art, inspire their creativity, encourage them to think out of the box, and take a break from their academics.

In the 2024 spring semester, the TCC Fine Art Gallery hosted three different exhibits. Florida landscapes by John Gleason was exhibited from Jan. 11-Feb. 15. Global neighbors by TCC graphic design professor Roopali Kambo was exhibited from Feb. 22- April 4. The last exhibit of the academic year will be TCC’s Annual Juried Art Student Exhibit from April 12-24th. 

An opening reception for the exhibit will be held from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 11. The reception is free and open to the public. The show will run through April 25.

To their own beat, a piece by Roopali Kambo, acrylic on canvas.

TCC art professor Ljiljana Obradovic-Edmiston said the student exhibit is something she looks forward to each year. The opening of the student exhibit will be held Friday, April 12.

Behind my mask II by Roopali Kambo, acrylic canvas.

“We collect the best work from every class that we have for art,” she said. “Then we frame it, make it look beautiful, and we bring it to the gallery. And there’s a big celebration of that. There are awards given to students and grand opening of the show, there’s food and all the students come with their friends and family.”

The TCC Art Gallery is a 1,700 square foot facility housed in the Fine & Performing Arts Center. Next door is the Hurst Gallery that houses the John Hurst collection. More than 5,000 people visited both galleries last year. “Take a minute to enjoy looking at the world through the eyes of an artist – visit a gallery,” said TCC Gallery Curator Barbara Cohenour. (Photo by JaMalachi Willis)

Ken Pierson is the assistant curator and receptionist of the art gallery who said the gallery organizes about seven exhibits per school year. With a lot of different local and regional artists, the exhibits selected include a mixture of different mediums of art. 

Jean and Ralph Hurst shot by Jo Shoupe photography.

“It’s a great place for students to see actual art and say, “Hey, I might like this style, or I might like this style or something to motivate them to be interested in art.’”

Swimming fish by Ralph Hurst featured in the Ralph Hurst Art Gallery.

Students can also visit the Ralph Hurst Gallery at the TCC Fine Arts Gallery, which is open to the public year-round from 12:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. on Monday through Friday. It is also open in the evenings and on weekends during events held in Turner Auditorium. The gallery focuses on the artwork of Ralph Hurst and other notable Tallahassee artists from the 20th century. In 2003, Ralph Hurst and his spouse Jean donated their private art collection to TCC. The majority of the college’s collection is made up of their generous donation. 

Abstraction art piece by Nancy Reid Gum featured in the Ralph Hurst Art Gallery.
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