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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sept. 11, 2020<\/strong> 2020 \u2018FL3TCH3R Exhibit to offer gallery, virtual options <\/p>\n\n\n\n JOHNSON CITY, TN \u2013 <\/strong>The year 2020 has been a year of social, political and health-related statements of many kinds. The annual \u201cFL3TCH3R Exhibit: Social & Politically Engaged Art\u201d at East Tennessee State University\u2019s Reece Museum is a visual art forum inspired by and tailored for just that kind of expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fittingly, the 2020 exhibition will be a hybrid, part in person and part virtual. \u201cWe believe the hybrid, virtual way in which the exhibit will function this year conforms with its basis \u2013 reflecting social and political effects of how we are living through the 2020 pandemic,\u201d say \u201cFL3TCH3R Exhibit\u201d co-directors Wayne, Barb and Carrie Dyer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Established in 2013, in memory of ETSU graphic design student Fletcher Dyer, son of attorney Barb Dyer and now-emeritus ETSU Art & Design professor Wayne Dyer, \u201cFL3TCH3R\u201d has become an international juried exhibit with 249 entries this year from nearly 100 artists from around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Selections for this year\u2019s exhibit \u2013 which runs Monday, Oct. 5-Friday, Dec. 11 \u2013 were made by juror Carlton Wilkinson<\/strong><\/a>, a Nashville photographer, gallery proprietor and international speaker and lecturer. Entries for the exhibit run the gamut of visual art forms: fiber, jewelry\/metals, painting, photography, digital, sculpture, printmaking, video, graphic design, ceramics and 2D and 3D mixed media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The \u201cFL3TCH3R Exhibit\u201dis always an indicator of artists\u2019 social and political concerns, says Reece Museum Exhibition Coordinator Spenser Brenner. \u201cAs artist participation has increased since the first exhibition in 2013, so has the scope of issues being addressed,\u201d Brenner observes. \u201cConsidering the current state of national and global politics, coupled with social justice issues and the ongoing pandemic, I\u2019m sure artists have a lot to communicate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 2020 entries and selections, \u201cmore than ever before,\u201d says Barb Dyer, \u201creflected key prevalent issues surrounding the 2020 election and the present administration, as well as concerns of people worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Entries illustrated a range of subjects, including Black Lives Matter and systemic racism, police brutality toward people of color, protests, the COVID-19 pandemic, first-responder heroes, the 2016 election result, oppression, slavery and the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe entries submitted were some of the strongest and most powerful visual narratives of social\/politically engaged artworks ever received by the exhibit,\u201d says Fletcher\u2019s sister Carrie Dyer, a graphic designer and design professor at High Point University, N.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This year, the exhibit co-directors are making their own statement, adding an award for artwork focusing on Black Lives Matter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Other awards, include the best-in-show awards and memorial awards, established in memory of former ETSU Art & Design Chair Jack Schrader; former ETSU Vice President of Academic Affairs and arts supporter Robert J. Alfonso; Dorothy Carson, mother of graphic designer David Carson; and the Sammie L. Nicely Appalachian Award in memory of the beloved regional artist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, former \u201cFL3TCH3R\u201d juror, physician and visual artist Dr. Eric Avery, supports the Avery Healthcare and the Arts Award, while a portion of the entry fees also funds the Fletcher Hancock Dyer BFA Graphic Design Scholarship Award given annually to an ETSU Art & Design student. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While the 2020 exhibit can be viewed in person during the museum\u2019s operating hours, this year\u2019s awards ceremony will be recorded on Nov. 5 by the Dyers and Reece Museum staff and posted on the Reece Museum website and social media platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also this year, because of the pandemic, the juror\u2019s talk by Wilkinson will be virtual, recorded Nov. 5 and posted at www.etsu.edu\/reece<\/a>. The talk will include a walk-through of the exhibit with Wilkinson\u2019s commentary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Visitation to the exhibition, however, will not go virtual, opening to the public Oct. 5 at the museum on Stout Drive on ETSU\u2019s campus. \u201cThe Reece has implemented a number of measures to keep visitors, students and staff safe during the COVID-19 pandemic,\u201d says Reece Director Randy Sanders. \u201cThese measures include wearing a face covering, a one-way system of navigating the museum\u2019s galleries and hallways, having hand sanitizer available at the front entrance and maintaining social distancing guidelines.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Museum hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. \u201cWe encourage visitors to call 423-439-4392 or email us at reecemus@etsu.edu<\/a> to plan a visit ahead of time,\u201d Sanders says. \u201cThis will help museum staff maintain social distance guidelines.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The virtual events will not only keep patrons and artists safer, but they also open up new possibilities in the reach of the \u201cFL3TCH3R\u201d legacy. \u201cIn many ways, the exhibit may be accessible to more people than usual due to efforts by the Reece Museum staff to share the exhibit and events online,\u201d Wayne Dyer says. \u201cWe hope that these plans add strength and awareness of the wonderful works accepted this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are confident that this year\u2019s exhibit will be powerful.\u201d\u00a0
Contacts: <\/strong>Barbara H. & M. Wayne Dyer
co-directors, 423-534-9827<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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For more information about Fletcher Dyer, visit\u00a0http:\/\/fletcherdyer.com\/about.html<\/a>. For more information about the exhibit, visit\u00a0http:\/\/www.FL3TCH3Rexhibit.com<\/a>\u00a0and for Reece Museum, visit\u00a0www.etsu.edu\/reece<\/a> or call 423-439-4392.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n