Events
Museum Events are Free & Open to the Public
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Collage Your Spirit Doll with Aundra McCoy (October 6))
COLLAGE YOUR SPIRIT DOLL with AUNDRA McCOY
Friday, October 6 - 2pm to 4pm
Reece Museum invites you to join us for Aundra McCoy’s paper doll-making workshop on Friday, October 6, from 2 - 4pm. Please bring an image of a beloved ancestor to serve as the muse for your spirit doll. McCoy will guide you through the art of assemblage, expanding conceptions of what can function as art material—buttons, shells, earrings, lace, beads, feathers, love notes, newspaper and more. Re-imagine these everyday materials as thoughtful building blocks for your own unique doll that pays homage to the ones that came before us.
Aundra McCoy learned to make dolls and doll clothing as a child. Today, her dolls incorporate both traditional techniques and innovative styles, reflecting her African and Indigenous heritage. Her artistry is sold nationally and McCoy was owner both of Harbortown Wearable Arts and Wonderful Things, gallery shops that were among the first to sell the work of Black artists in Washington, DC. McCoy was raised in the historic community of Orange Mound, a subdivision of Memphis, TN, founded in 1890 for African Americans. In 2021, McCoy was awarded the title of Master Artist by the Tennessee Arts Commission during an initiative to preserve traditions that are rare or endangered in Tennessee. McCoy says, “Over the last forty years I have taught topics including dollmaking, sewing, beading, mixed media quilting, floor installations, and wearable art. I like to encourage my students to dig deep and express their inner memorabilia. Once they salvage these memories, they become transformed to serve their family and community in understanding the art form. By doing this their personal works become rescued memories that serve as cultural symbols and personal records for future generations.”
This event is supported by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation’s American Art Program and organized in partnership with Crafting Blackness: 100 Years Black Craft History of Tennessee Project.
Register here for an in-person seat or Zoom link: (Suggested donation of $20 to support the Sammie L. Nicely Collection)
IN-PERSON REGISTRATION ZOOM REGISTRATION
Bring your own materials:
- A frontal image of a beloved ancestor
- Any special written or typed words (letters, notes, newspaper clippings, etc.)
- Any special/sentimental/meaningful/symbolic items to attach to the spirit doll (beads, sticks, cloth, old jewelry, shells, buttons, feathers, lace, etc.)
Provided Materials (Zoom participants will need to gather these materials for themselves):
- brown craft paper
- scissors
- Aleene’s tacky glue bottles
- Elmer’s glue sticks
- wood bamboo skewers
- hole puncher
- color pencils
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The Exuberant Spirit Gathering: Reception & Panel (October 7)
An Exuberant Spirit: The Sammie L. Nicely Collection
Reception: Saturday, October 7 - 4pm to 7pm
The Exuberant Spirit Gathering: Folk Connections of Ancestors, Makers, and Organizers
Panel: Saturday, October 7 - 5pm to 6pm
Reece Museum presents The Exuberant Spirit Gathering: Folk Connections of Ancestors, Makers, & Organizers, a panel that will take place during a reception for An Exuberant Spirit: The Sammie L. Nicely Collection on October 7. Artists, community leaders, and friends will gather to discuss the legacy of Sammie L. Nicely, who dedicated his career to advancing cultural awareness and promoting arts and arts education in his native Hamblen County, Tennessee, as well as internationally. Recognized as an extraordinary artist with a successful career, he is also remembered by friends and family as a well-traveled teacher of culture who was a champion of children, a peace-maker, and a thoughtful guru. Our guest panelists, Aundra McCoy, Carlton Wilkinson, Bo Simpon, and Jason Flack, will speak to their art and community engagement practices from a folk perspective providing insight into various ways of expressing regional/ancestral identity and collective values. Meet our featured panelists:
o Moderator, Carlton Wilkinson:
A resident of Nashville, Carlton Wilkinson is a photographer whose dramatic black and white images reflect contemporary life and its relationship to the African American experience. His work has won the Tennessee Arts Commission Fellowship and a number of art competition awards. He is the founder and past president of the Nashville African American Arts Association. Wilkinson was also the juror for the 2020 FL3TCH3R EXHIBIT, an international, juried exhibit that is hosted at the Reece Museum annually. The Sammie L. Nicely Collection holds three of Wilkinson’s silver gelatin prints, two of which are currently displayed in An Exuberant Spirit.
o Panelist, Aundra McCoy:
Aundra McCoy was raised in the historic community of Orange Mound, a subdivision of Memphis, TN, founded in 1890 for African Americans. In 2021, McCoy was awarded the title of Master Artist by the Tennessee Arts Commission during an initiative to preserve traditions that are rare or endangered in Tennessee. Over the last forty years McCoy has taught topics including dollmaking, sewing, beading, mixed media quilting, floor installations, and wearable art. Aundra was a long-time friend of Sammie Nicely. Two of her mixed media dolls are part of his collection and are currently on display in An Exuberant Spirit.
o Panelist, Jason Flack:
Jason Flack is an award-winning urban folk and neo-expressionist painter, community leader, and speaker. He has been an artist for over 30 years, but he was called specifically to painting after the sudden death of his twin sister, Jessica, in 2010. When he was a young boy, a guest artist came to visit at two after school programs. The children learned how to make African and Asiatic style masks out of paper mâché—their instructor was Sammie Nicely. Although their encounters were brief, the very influential Nicely would leave an impression on one child in particular, an 8-year-old Flack. Jason would soon become the next generation of influential artists, following the late, great Sammie Nicely. Jason is now included in the Sammie Nicely Collection and was a former TEDxJohnsonCity speaker in 2023.
o Panelist, Bo Simpson
Bio: Bo Simpson is the president of From Africa to Appalachia, a foundation that was founded by Sammie Nicely & JoVita Wells in 1986. FATA provides a vehicle for the expression of African American and Appalachian ethnic and cultural heritage. In 2000, Bo was ordained and elected pastor of Thorn Hill Baptist Church where he continues to pastor. Bo first became acquainted with Sammie Nicely through a friendship with Sammie’s brother Bruce. Then they would meet each other at Morristown College events and at other local venues. While recruiting Bo to join the From Africa to Appalachia cause, Sammie encouraged him to be himself. Bo started volunteering with FATA by introducing choirs and helping with membership registration prior to his role as now president.
This event is supported by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation’s American Art Program and organized in partnership with Crafting Blackness: 100 Years Black Craft History of Tennessee Project. The Exuberant Spirit Gathering is free & open to the public.
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FL3TCH3R EXHIBIT Juror Talk, Awards & Reception (November 2)
The Eleventh Annual FL3TCH3R EXHIBIT: Social & Politically Engaged Art is an international juried exhibition. The exhibit explores current issues important to visual and auditory artists.
Adam DelMarcelle, an artist, professor and designer who focuses his own work on using design activism to address larger societal issues, will jury this year's exhibition. The exhibition will open October 2.JUROR TALK, AWARD CEREMONY & RECEPTION: Thursday, November 2 from 5 to 8pm
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1st Saturday @ the Reece (October 7)
The Reece Museum will be open for special weekend hours.
SPECIAL HOURS: Saturday, October 7 from 10 am to 3pm
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1st Saturday @ the Reece (November 4)
The Reece Museum will be open for special weekend hours.
SPECIAL HOURS: Saturday, November 4 from 10 am to 3pm
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1st Saturday @ the Reece (December 2)
The Reece Museum will be open for special weekend hours.
SPECIAL HOURS: Saturday, December 2 from 10 am to 3pm