On April 15, an exhibition show led by physician, psychiatrist and artist Dr. Eric Avery along with fellow printmaker and graphic designer Adam DelMarcelle will open at ETSU.
The exhibition show is named “Epidemic” and focuses on educating people in the community on medical crises.
The events will take place in the Reece Museum, starting with a reception and gallery talk on Thursday, April 18 from 5-7 p.m. that includes a dance performance from Mountain Movers.
The exhibition will fill galleries C and D of the Reece Museum with a mixture of art by Avery and DelMarcelle, including a doomsday clock ticking off the number of overdose deaths during the run of the exhibition.
Tennessee ranks second in the country for opioid use, while the East Tennessee region consumes the highest amount in the state.
“The ‘Epidemic’ exhibition is largely a function of the ETSU’s Basler Chair of Excellence for the Integration of Rhetoric, Science and the Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences, ” said Anita DeAngelis, director of Mary B. Martin School of the Arts. “The Basler Chair brings a scholar to campus for a semester-long residency annually. This year, the Chair is Dr. Eric Avery.”
Dr. Eric Avery started making art to document his encounters helping Somalian and Vietnamese refugees, capturing the human side of the HIV/AIDS outbreak that become prevalent to educate the people and to uplift those affected.
DelMarcelle lost his brother to opioid abuse. In 2018, the two blended their talents to launch the “Epidemic” exhibition at the York College of Pennsylvania and are reproducing it here at ETSU.
“The focus is the opioid crisis, a crisis in which central Appalachia is often considered to be the epi-center,” DeAngelis stated. “The crisis impacts families of all socio-economic, racial and religious backgrounds. College students are impacted as well.”
ETSU’s Dance Composition class will be participating in the “Epidemic” effort as well. These student dancers will perform a dance inspired by the exhibit at Reece Museum on Monday, April 22 at 2 p.m. The “Epidemic” piece will be a part of the Dance Composition Showcase on Wednesday, April 24 at 7:30 p.m. in Bud Frank Theatre.
A newspaper style catalog of 20 pages of illustrative and instructional prints by Avery and DelMarcelle will also be available at the exhibition.
For more information on the “Epidemic” exhibition, contact Reece Museum at www.etsu.edu/reece or 423-439-4392. For information on 2019 Basler Chair events, visit www.etsu.edu/cas/basler.php or call Anita DeAngelis at 423-439-5673. For disability accommodations, call the ETSU Office of Disability Services at 423-439-8346.
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