Fall Exhibits in the Downtown Library:

After the Plague Years: A Public History Students Exhibit
Downtown Library, 6th Floor; Sept 2023 - May 2024

Students in WVU History Professor Jennifer Thornton's history classes 2022-23 researched, developed, and designed this exhibit featuring plagues throughout history. Fifteen plagues are highlighted from the Plague of Athens to the Black Death, the Russian Bubonic Plague, Hong Kong Flu, AIDS and many more with art and educational content. The exhibit will be on view through spring of 2024.

Rectifying New Digital Record

2023 Art in the Libraries Graduate Student Exhibit Awardee, Qazi Arka Rahman, Doctoral Candidate, WVU English

WVU Downtown Library Graduate Commons, Fall 2023

The exhibit will be a digital art that showcases how real-world inequalities transpire in the world of web. It highlights an issue of substantial social impact – the extent of influence of language & print texts on the digital domain and the need for multilingual collaboration between ‘hypercentral’ language (English) and non-central languages (such as Bangla). The visualization is made to be like an art, rather than data charts, to evoke emotional responses. It operates with the logic that sustainable and effective change requires emotional engagement from individuals and communities.

Insect Origami: Creative Arts Meet Biological and Physical Sciences

Curated by 2023 Art in the Libraries Faculty Exhibit Awardee Yong- Lak Park, Professor of Entomology, Davis College
September 2023-May 2024, WVU Downtown Library Room 1020

Origami is an art form that has captivated people for generations. It is a Japanese word meaning folding paper, and it is a challenging art and craft that involves transforming square sheets of paper into specific objects by folding and creasing. Among origami artists, insect models are the most challenging because their complex morphological features are difficult to reproduce from single, square sheets of paper. Dr. Yong-Lak Park (Professor of Entomology) has been practicing, demonstrating, and developing origami insects for the past 35 years. At an upcoming exhibit, Dr. Park plans to display over 20 origami models and demonstrate the art of insect origami through hands-on activities. This exhibit is not just for those interested in the sciences; it is for anyone interested in creative arts, designs, textiles, and STEM education. With an online version of the exhibit available for those who cannot attend in person, this exhibit is sure to inspire and educate audiences of all ages. 

Paintings by Max Hayslette

Downtown Library, 6th Floor

Included in this exhibit are 18 recent paintings that show two sides of Max Hayslette— the romantic landscape painter, and the abstract expressionist. While the two styles may seem disparate, for Hayslette they are essentially the same, both resulting from the same intellectual process. Max Hayslette's generous gift of these paintings to the West Virginia Regional History Center and WVU students, faculty and staff makes this exhibit possible.

Laptop Art Exhibit

Downtown Library, 2nd Floor

Why have laptop stickers become so popular among college students and staff? Are there hidden meanings behind the images we display? Or is there simply no reason behind the unique collages we use to decorate our belongings? WVU Libraries posted a call to campus and community to share and explain their laptop stickers. These 13 individuals offer insight into their lives and interests, showing their passions and ways of self expression through their unique collections of stickers.

Contemporary Literary Appalachia:Reimagining Classic Book Covers

College of Creative Arts Professor of Graphic Design Joseph Galbreath's advanced design students worked with the West Virginia & Regional History Center Appalachian and Rare Book Collections to reimagine classic Appalachian book covers. Student designs are enlarged and displayed in study rooms throughout the year as well as displayed as 3-D book objects in entryway cases in January. Student designs are enlarged and displayed in study rooms throughout the year as well as displayed outside the WVRHC entryway.