The Helen S. Smith Gallery at Green River College Presents:

The Annual Student Exhibition!
May 20 - June 5

Closing reception (in conjunction with the Student Showcase):
Wednesday, June 5th, noon

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The Helen S. Smith Gallery is an academic resource for the Green River campus and regional art community.  The gallery highlights the media of the Fine Arts Division by presenting culturally engaging exhibitions by emerging and established Northwest Artists throughout the year.  The gallery also provides a catalyst for art students to engage with their first audience through our annual student art exhibition.

The May exhibition provides a special annual opportunity set aside for our art students to find their footing as exhibiting artists as many prepare to transfer to art schools in the fall, or gain confidence to continue with us to further develop a strong portfolio.  We are exceptionally proud of the work they do and are excited to present a snapshot, conceptually, of this year’s student experience.

In our gallery over her 50+ year tenure, we have hosted a remarkable many of the NW greats who have celebrated national and international acclaim throughout their careers. Some of these artists began their career with this very show. The long legacy of the Helen S. Smith Gallery is a source of pride and we invite you to come and celebrate the accomplishments of our 2024 student artists.

The exhibition closes on Wednesday, June 5th with a celebration and reception for our students in the gallery at noon.  We invite you to celebrate with us!

Visit the Helen S. Smith Gallery websitehttps://us18.mailchimp.com/mctx/clicks?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.greenriver.edu%2Fcommunity%2Fart-gallery%2F&xid=684080d65c&uid=93186121&iid=75fe99d01c&pool=cts&v=2&c=1715733806&h=c8cb7c6f8af7b154c0ad1d3f68f84b6c7dafa750124f885e8a5782dc1713c5fe soon for a virtual Student Exhibition experience!

Helen S. Smith Gallery, Green River Collegehttps://us18.mailchimp.com/mctx/clicks?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.greenriver.edu%2Fcommunity%2Fart-gallery%2F&xid=684080d65c&uid=93186121&iid=75fe99d01c&pool=cts&v=2&c=1715733806&h=c8cb7c6f8af7b154c0ad1d3f68f84b6c7dafa750124f885e8a5782dc1713c5fe
Sarah Dillon Gilmartin, Gallery Director: sdillon@greenriver.eduhttps://us18.mailchimp.com/mctx/clicks?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsdillon%40greenriver.edu&xid=684080d65c&uid=93186121&iid=75fe99d01c&pool=cts&v=2&c=1715733806&h=4742277bf23af52e0c252af204708a9ba216e5b3ebf2849bfce8bca7f0bec725
12401 SE 320th St., Auburn, WA 98092
(The Gallery is located across the hall from the Holman Library and open during regular library hours)
Hours of Operation:
Monday - Thursday. 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.; Friday. 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.;
Saturday and Sunday. 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m
253.833.9111

The Helen S. Smith Gallery at Green River College Presents:

Kellie Colemon: Alchemy

September 23 - November 7

Closing reception and artist talk: Thursday, November 7th, noon

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Image above: Kellie Colemon, I Was Born, Paper, acrylic, and pastel collage on canvas,16x20

ALCHEMY 3: The Moment(s), is a collection of works by Kellie Colemon that explores if and how we can truly metabolize pain (ours and others) into purpose. More specifically, the work invites you to pause and consider:

· What can be transformed and what should simply be let go?
· Is surrender also a form of survival?
· What role is community willing to play in each other's healing?

The artist includes pieces created during and after her cancer journey, and considers the impact of the medical industrial complex on Black bodies, the stigma of “sickness,” and the notion of health and wellness in our lives.

Kellie Colemon is a Black, queer interdisciplinary artist, writer, and educator born and raised in Tacoma, Washington. Kellie’s work primarily explores themes of love, loss and longing, with particular attention to how those themes intersect with Black American humanity. Working primarily with mixed media and collage, Kellie’s relationship with art is defined by the metamorphosis that happens when art is a liberatory practice. As Tacoma’s Poet Laureate from 2017-2019, Kellie leveraged her role to experiment with form, incorporating collage and interactive performance into her poetry. She created and curated three Tacoma Summer SOULstice Festivals, an event centering LGBTQ and BIPOC artists. Each of Kellie’s projects is another re-invention and re-imagining of form and technique.

Kellie has released two collections of her work, What Us Ishttps://bluecactuspress.com/product/what-us-is/ and The Art of Naming My Painhttps://bluecactuspress.com/product/the-art-of-naming-my-pain/, both published by Blue Cactus Press. Sometimes through provocation or confession, other times through belly laughs or tears, Kellie works to celebrate the beauty and power of everyday folk and put some funk into the dread we call survival.

Please join us on Thursday, November 7th at noon for an artist talk and closing reception in the gallery.

Helen S. Smith Gallery, Green River College
Sarah Dillon Gilmartin, Gallery Director: sdillon@greenriver.edumailto:sdillon@greenriver.edu
12401 SE 320th St., Auburn, WA 98092
(The Gallery is located across the hall from the Holman Library and open during regular library hours)
Hours of Operation:
Monday - Thursday. 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.; Friday. 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.;
Saturday and Sunday. 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m
253.833.9111