a work by SFA assistant art professor Eden Collins entitled “I Am Your Audience Now, part 1” (2021)

Works by SFA assistant art professor Eden Collins, including “I Am Your Audience Now, part 1” (2021), are featured in an exhibition opening Sept. 3 in The Cole Art Center. The annual SFA School of Art Faculty Exhibition also opens that night.


NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Stephen F. Austin State University’s annual School of Art Faculty Exhibition will open with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 3, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

Each year, the faculty exhibition features a wide variety of artworks in ceramics, sculpture, photography, painting, prints, metals and mixed media, according to Christopher Talbot, director of the SFA School of Art.

“We look forward to another academic year and will start the semester presenting work from our talented faculty,” Talbot said. “I always enjoy seeing their creativity, and this is our opportunity to share it with the community.”

This year’s featured faculty artist is Eden Collins, assistant professor (sculpture) in the School of Art, who will present an exhibition of her unique body of work with “A Space for Traipsing.” Her work spans sculpture, installation, performance, video and photography. The exhibition will give viewers “a glimpse into the mind of one of my characters – The Bathtub Drag Queen,” she said. “Through installation, performance, sculpture, video and more, I am transforming the gallery into her ballroom – a space where all might traipse with her for just a moment.” The exhibition opening will also feature performances by students in the SFA dance program.

Collins’ exhibition will show in Cole Art Center’s Reavley Gallery, and the faculty exhibition will be in Ledbetter Gallery. The faculty show will be displayed through Sept. 28, and Collins’ works will be exhibited through Oct. 16, which is the night of the Friends of the Visual Arts’ 12 X 12 scholarship benefit. The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House, SFA’s historic downtown gallery, is located at 329 E. Main St.

Admission to the exhibition and reception, which is sponsored in part by William Arscott, the Friends of the Visual Arts, Nacogdoches Junior Forum and The Flower Shop, is free. For more information, call (936) 468-5500.