An exhibit on display in the Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center on the University of Arkansas Fort Smith campus through Feb. 28 features approximately 40 photographs documenting the painting of murals by UAFS students as part of 64.6 Downtown’s The Unexpected.

 

A reception will be held at 5 p.m. Feb. 8 in the Reynolds Room lobby that is free and open to the public.

 

The photos chronicle the planning and painting of murals by professor Bryan Alexis’s special projects classes during the fall 2015 and 2016 semesters. The class painted the works as part of The Unexpected, an arts initiative that invited artists from across the globe to paint murals adorning buildings in downtown Fort Smith.

 

In 2015, students painted a mural -- sponsored by the ticket printing company Weldon, Williams & Lick -- displaying Johannes Gutenberg, who invented the moveable-type printing method, backdropped by whizzing colored boxes reminiscent of the digital age. The image is located at the corner of North 7th and North B St.

 

In 2016, students painted a mural on the side of The Blue Lion at UAFS Downtown, located at 101 N. 2nd St., depicting Fort Smith music legend Alphonso Trent.

 

The exhibit is located on the west end of the first floor of the campus center, and exhibit hours are 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Fridays. For more information about the exhibit, contact the UAFS Box Office at 479-788-7300.

 

About the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith

The University of Arkansas – Fort Smith is the premiere regional institution of Western Arkansas, connecting education with careers and serving as a driver of economic development and quality of place in the greater Fort Smith region. Through a small campus, dedicated professors, and the university’s unique bond with its community, students at UAFS are able to do more in the areas they are passionate about, both on- and off-campus, in a way that prepares them for post-graduate success. To find out how you can do more at UAFS, visit www.uafs.edu.