UA’s Paul Jones Gallery of Art Hosts Two Tuscaloosa Elementary Schools

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Students from two Tuscaloosa schools will visit The University of Alabama’s Paul R. Jones Gallery during October as part of the Paul R Jones Collection of American Art K-12 Fellows Program.

Students from Tuscaloosa Magnet Middle School and University Place Elementary School have selected categories of art that they are interested in, and the Paul R. Jones Gallery will display examples of those media or subjects for the exhibit.

“Tuscaloosa Magnet Middle has selected portraits with a multi-media theme, and University Place Elementary has selected art with a Native American and Folk Art theme, all from the Paul Jones Collection of Art,” said Karen Kennedy, director of the Paul R. Jones and University Galleries.

The exhibit, a collaboration between the two schools and the Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art, opens Monday, Oct. 3, and will be displayed through Sunday, Nov. 11.

The Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art’s K-12 Fellowship Program, established in 2014, works with Tuscaloosa City Schools to foster an interest in art in students and to build community through the making and public display of fine art.

The program provides support for teachers to bring students to the gallery, offers curricular assistance through the placement of UA student interns in K-12 classrooms and hosts a showcase of work — inspired by the collection — by K-12 students at the gallery at the end of the fellowship cycle.

“We are very excited to work with local students again this year and to use the Jones collection to not only build their knowledge of art, but also create confidence in the students by allowing them the opportunity to display their own work in the Paul R. Jones Art Gallery,” Kennedy said.

The gallery honors the late Paul R. Jones who, during his lifetime, amassed one of the largest collections of African-American art in the world. The Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art at UA includes more than 2,100 works valued at $10.3 million. Jones donated the collection to UA in 2008.

The Paul R. Jones Gallery is at 2308 Sixth St. in downtown Tuscaloosa. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Fridayand the first Friday of every month from noon to 8 p.m.

The Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art is part of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes, Goldwater and Fulbright scholarships.