Northwestern's Artist-in-Residence to display artwork for First Friday Art Walk

Britynn Davis, Northwestern Oklahoma State University's Artist-in-Residence within the Visual Arts program for the month of October, will be showing the artwork she has created while on campus during the annual First Friday Art Walk festivities. Her work will be at both the Graceful Arts Center and Runnymede Hotel from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 4.

Davis creates sculptural works specializing in textile processes. That work, as well as pictures of temporary installations of artwork students created in her various workshops, will be featured during the Friday event in downtown Alva.

The Artist-in-Residence program is by invitation from Northwestern for a professional artist to come stay in Alva for a month to two months to live, create art and help assist Kyle Larson, assistant professor of art at Northwestern, with the teaching of his students.

"I really loved working with the art students and other students through the workshops," Davis said. "I feel like the students here are very interested and very eager to learn.

"I feel that I grew creatively and got to expand my studio practice with such a large space, and it was such a different environment to work in. I definitely feel like it was very productive and helpful as an artist, but I also feel good about the amount of time I got to spend with students and engage with them. I feel like there was a balance while I was here."

Davis is from Little Rock, Arkansas, where she received her bachelor's degree in graphic design from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. She then received her Master of Fine Arts in fiber and material studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Accepting the art residency at Northwestern was a natural choice for Davis because of her family history with the university and the familiarity of the area. Her uncle Michael McNeely, former Northwestern football player, graduated in 1976. Her grandparents also attended Northwestern, Phyllis and John McNeely, a former basketball player, both graduated in 1954. Phyllis and John own a ranch in Coldwater, Kansas, where Davis would visit in her childhood.

After her time at Northwestern Davis will continue traveling and has accepted another residency at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson.

"A lot of my work is about relationships, people and how we interact," Davis said. "I definitely feel like the experience of being here at Northwestern will continue to have an influence on my work. Going forward this experience will have an effect on the way I work, too."

For more information on the Artist-in-Residence program or the visual arts program, please contact Larson at 580-327-8108 or [email protected].