Thompson Art Gallery and Department Events Schedule

THOMPSON ART GALLERY

Fall 2026

Show 1: True Inspiration Artist in Residence, Chase Williamson

Welcome Talk: Thursday, September 3, 2026 @ 5:00 PM

Show 2: Michael May, “A Fine Kettle of Fish”

August 24 to September 18, 2026

Artist Talk & Reception: Thursday, September 10, 2026 @ 5:00 PM

Show 3: FU Art Alumni Exhibition 

September 28 to November 6, 2026

Reception: Friday, October 23, 2026 @ 6:30 PM

Show 4: Chimeras: Angels in the Age of Industry, Curated by Alexander Rouse

November 13 to December 11 , 2026

Curator’s Talk & Reception: Friday, November 13, 2026 @ 5:00 PM

Roers Art Club is Back! 

We have started back up the Roers art student club! Roers meets twice a month to do fun art related activities like Bob Ross paint night, murals and more. If you are a student and would like to join Roers or have general questions about the club, please contact club president, Alex Aradas.

FALL 2026 TRUE INSPIRATION ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE

The Department of Art at Furman University invites applications for the Fall 2026 True Inspiration Artist-in-Residence. This is the second True Inspiration Artist-in-Residence opportunity of the 2026 season. The program awards an eight-to-sixteen-week residency on Furman’s campus in Greenville, SC to a practicing artist or designer to continue the development of ongoing studio projects and/or embark upon new creative endeavors. The Artist-in-Residence receives a $6,000 stipend, a private studio in the Roe Art Building, institutional affiliation with Furman University, and a solo exhibition in the Department of Art’s Thompson Art Gallery. The ideal resident will have a practice that complements and expands upon the Department’s concentrations in drawing, painting, photography, ceramics, graphic design, sculpture, printmaking, and art history. This resident’s practice will also demonstrate a capacity for interdisciplinary dialogue and seek to engage both Furman’s academic community and the broader regional public.

Eligibility:
The True Inspiration Artist-in-Residence is open to emerging and professional artists or designers of all media who:

•Reside in North America and/or who currently have a US work permit.
•Hold an MFA by the start of the residency or who have a significant record of exhibition and professional achievement.
•Live outside the upstate South Carolina region.

Residency Themes:
This cycle, the Department of Art is especially interested in artists and designers whose work engages one or more of the following themes:

•Multiplicities, pluralities, copies, and redundancies
•Alternative approaches to traditional materials, histories, and hierarchies
•Graphic design’s contribution to social activism, community organization, and protest
•Environmental sustainability and technological consciousness
•The amplification of historically marginalized voices and broader cultural exchange
•The complexities, nuances, and contradictions of Southern identity

Residents are also encouraged to consider their project’s potential to resonate with Furman’s broader academic community, institutes, and organizations. Some such resources include:

•Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities
•Riley Institute of Government, Politics and Public Leadership
•Institute for the Advancement of Community Health
•Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
•Furman University Special Collections
•The Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program

Residency Expectations:
During their time at Furman, it is expected that the resident will:

•Reside at Furman for a period of at least 8 weeks and a maximum of 16 weeks during the Fall 2026 semester (August 25 to December 8, 2026). The resident may elect when and how long the residency takes place.
•Make significant progress on a proposed studio project.
•Provide work for a six-week solo exhibition in the Thompson Art Gallery during the Spring 2027 semester. The exhibition should include work from the residency project but may include earlier work as well. The selected resident will submit a formal exhibition proposal in October 2026, prior to the conclusion of the residency. The Gallery is approximately 1100 sq ft with 115 linear ft of exhibitable wall space.
•Give two formal artist / gallery talks. The first will be a welcome talk at the start of the residency and the second a gallery talk at the exhibition’s reception.
•Design and run a one-day workshop for Furman students.
•Hold at least 20 hours of open studio hours per week. Most of these 20 hours should be scheduled during working hours (weekdays, 9am to 5pm) to facilitate engagement with Furman’s students and faculty.

Compensation and Support:
For the duration of their residency, the resident receives:

•A $6,000 stipend to offset material and living expenses
•A $500 budget for supplies
•24-hour access to a private studio in Furman’s Roe Art Building
•Access, pending demonstrated experience, to the Department of Art’s equipment (the resident is responsible for all associated material costs)

As an affiliate of Furman University, the resident also receives free access to the physical and institutional resources of the university’s larger academic community, including:

•James B. Duke Library and Special Collections
•PAC Fitness Center
•Parking pass
•Computer / Software Licenses (such as Adobe) / IT support

The resident is responsible for the arrangement and cost of their housing, food, transportation, materials, and supplies.
About Furman University, the Department of Art, and Greenville

Furman is a small liberal arts university located in Greenville, South Carolina. With 2,550 on-campus students from across the world, the university strives to support lifelong learners through inquiry, transformative experiences, and deep reflection. Furman values academic rigor, interdisciplinary dialogue, and community engagement. The Department of Art has about 50 students majoring in studio art and art history. It offers concentrations in 2D Art, 3D Art, Photography, and Design. Its Roe Art Building has dedicated studios for painting, drawing, graphic design, woodworking, ceramics, and analog and digital photography.

The True Inspiration Artist-in-Residence was inaugurated in 2016 as part of The Furman Advantage—a university-wide program that aims to build educational value for students through accelerated career exposure. The residency is intended to promote and encourage contact between the resident and Furman’s academic community, thereby providing Furman’s students with the opportunity to witness and engage with a practicing artist or designer as they complete existing creative projects and develop new ones.
The upstate South Carolina area is rapidly growing with a rich history rooted in the textile industry. The New York Times ranked Greenville #12 on their 52 Places to Go in 2017 and Condé Traveler readers named it among the top 5 small cities in 2021. Local arts organizations include:

•Queer Arts Initiative
•Greenville Center for Creative Arts
•Greenville County Museum of Art
•Metropolitan Arts Council Directory of Artists and Galleries

Application Procedure:
To apply for the Fall 2026 True Inspiration Artist-in-Residence, please submit the following materials as a single PDF to thompsongallery@furman.edu by Friday, December 19, 2025. There is no fee to apply.

•Statement of Intent (limit 800 words):
•Outline the studio project(s) to be explored during the residency period, including its themes, conceptual / creative goals, and materials.
•Explain how the project would advance your career goals as well as the goals of the True Inspiration residency program.
•Propose a potential resident-led workshop for undergraduate students. The tentative plan should explain the concepts with which students will engage and the material / space requirements.
•Artist Statement (limit 500 words)
•Artist Biography (limit 200 words)
•CV with contact information
•Portfolio
•10 images of recent / existing work with titles, dimensions, materials, and year created. Please include an image list.
•Links to videos should be embedded in the PDF.

Timeline:

•Application Deadline: Friday, December 19, 2025, 11:59pm
•Preliminary Notification of Application Status: By Monday, February 2, 2026
•Residency: Fall 2026 (at least 8 weeks between August 25 to December 8, 2026)
•Exhibition Proposal for Accepted Resident: Friday, October 30, 2026
•Exhibition: January 11 to February 19, 2027

More Information:
Questions related to the Fall 2026 True Inspiration Artist-in-Residence may be directed to Dr. Stephen Mandravelis at thompsongallery@furman.edu

The Thompson Art Gallery and the Department of Art are currently accepting submissions for two opportunities:

1. Proposals for Gallery Exhibitions (during the 2026-27 and 2027-28 academic years). More information about this opportunity, including application instructions, can be found here.

2. True Inspiration Artist-in-Residence (Fall 2026). More information about this opportunity, including its requirements and application instructions, can be found here.

The application deadline for both opportunities is 11:59pm on Friday, December 19, 2025.

Please submit any questions to thompsongallery@furman.edu.

We are excited to welcome Chase Williamson as the Fall 2026 True Inspiration Artist-in-Residence. A 2026 MFA graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Williamson creates vibrant, fluid paintings that explore Blackness and womanhood through environmental histories and other contemporary conditions. During her semester on campus, Williamson will develop a residency project centered around Furman’s lake. “My work explores water as a site of transformation,” she explains, noting that “submerged spaces let us move differently than when we are above ground.” She describes her paintings as spaces where Black women can reclaim agency, rest, and possibility while inviting viewers to imagine ways of existing beyond imposed expectations. Bright, colorful, and full of shifting perspectives, her paintings are intimate portrayals of movement and stillness, portraying alternative futures that resist surveillance and restriction. “They are environments,” she summarizes, “where Blackness coincides with joy, resilience, and the radical possibilities of becoming.”

Williamson will arrive at Furman in early August 2026 and will be in residence in the AiR Studio in the Roe Art Building courtyard until early December. Students, alumni, and the public are welcome to stop by her open studio hours during the semester. These hours will be posted on the Department’s social media pages in mid-August. In addition to serving as the True Inspiration Artist-in-Residence, Williamson will also teach a section of ART 113: Introduction to Painting.

Williamson will give a welcome talk on Thursday, September 3^, at 5pm in the Roe Art Building’s lecture room. All are welcome to attend. Her residency exhibition will be on view in the Thompson Art Gallery from January 4 to February 12, 2027.

For details, stay tuned to @furmanart, @thompsongallery_furman, and @chasewilliamsonart on Instagram!