Eagles flock to UMW Galleries for “Take a Painting” exhibit

EMMA GREER

Staff Writer

The UMW community crowded duPont Gallery for the opening reception of Pennsylvania-based artist Erika Stearly’s “Take a Painting” exhibition on Sept. 4. At the exhibit, students were encouraged to make artwork of their own and, in exchange, to take a piece off the wall. 

“It invites the audience to take a painting, which is weird in a gallery; you can never take paintings in a gallery, but also to replace one,” said MacKenzie Martin, a senior studio art major.

According to the Director of UMW Galleries, Tracy Stonestreet, interactive exhibitions where the viewer can actually touch, change and contribute to the art itself are special. 

“The idea of having art be interactive is really important,” she said. “I think it allows people to feel like they have agency in a gallery space and that the artwork itself sort of contains them and their creativity.”

“Take a Painting” has been traveling to various college campuses since 2013, when it started with only Stearly’s work being hung on the wall. Every time the installation is shown in a new place, the primary pieces are changed by those who have exchanged their own painting for one on the wall. Now, in 2025, it is uncertain if any of Stearly’s original work remains in the exhibition.

“I like to think of it as a wheel where the artwork goes in, and you don’t know who’s made it,” said Stonestreet. “[Stearly] has created this process of exchange, which is pretty special.”

Stearly’s piece engages with the audience to raise questions about the artist-to-art relationship, the permanence of art and the role of the viewer in a museum setting. 

The opening reception was well-attended, with every seat at the art-making table occupied and others squeezing their way in for a place to stand. Students across majors, graduation years and skill levels united at the gallery to contribute to Stearly’s installation.

“I think it’s really special knowing that it’s somebody’s hard work that’s out there that I get to take home, and also being able to make my own work for somebody else to enjoy,” said freshman Chloe Lipinski. 

The take-home aspect of the exhibition drew a lot of attention. 

“I got a cute little thing,” said Isabella Ellenberger, a senior theater major. “ I loved grabbing it. I have a cute little memento of the art gallery.”

Lipinski described the reception as incredibly supportive. 

“I was in there, and I was really struggling, and the people around me were like, ‘No, just keep going, this is what art is. You struggle through it, but you make something in the end,’” she said.

Perhaps it was the large communal table or the glitter glue, but attendees agreed the nature of the installation felt very child-like in the best way possible. 

“It felt like I was a kid. I didn’t care what I was making, if it was good or bad, I was just playing with a bunch of little materials,” said senior studio art major Lily Price.

Freshman Clara Johnson felt similarly to Price, comparing her experience to an elementary classroom. 

“Everyone kept saying it felt like kindergarten again,” said freshman Clara Johnson. “Everyone was interested in what other people were making and that was really cool.”

Stearly’s work resonated across the UMW community. 

“UMW is full of a lot of very creative people,” said Stonestreet. “I think the students like opportunities to engage; they have an innate sense of curiosity and creativity that this allows them to act upon.”

Some students, such as Johnson, came to the gallery because it gave them an opportunity to make art. Others, like Lipinski, simply enjoy museums and viewing the work of others. 

“I had to drop an art class this semester, and I didn’t want to, and so it was nice to be able to come here and do a little bit of art,” said freshman Kenley Martin. “It was a nice little catharsis.”

While everyone had a different, specific reason for coming, a love and appreciation of art was common amongst peers.

“Take a Painting” will remain in duPont Gallery until Oct. 10, when all of the art pieces made at UMW will be shipped back to Stearly to be cut down to size and used in future exhibition locations. 

In addition to Stearly’s installation at duPont Gallery, “Intersection,” an exhibition by artists David Carlson and Chee Keong Kung, is on display at Ridderhof Martin Gallery until Oct. 10.