Issue date: 10/20/09 Section: A&E

Media Credit: Lindsey Oyler/Alestle In one of the two venues for ArtEAST at SIUE, a display case of director of User Services Charlotte Johnson's artwork lies near the entrance of Lovejoy Library. The other venue is the Art and Design building on campus. ArtEAST has over 40 venues featuring 200 artists around the Metro-east area of St. Louis.

When Charlotte Johnson, the director of User Services in the Lovejoy Library, goes home, she does not go to read more resource books and alphabetize. Instead, this SIUE faculty member is a part of the traveling ArtEAST, which takes place at SIUE each year, revealing the creative works of artists around the Metro-East area of St. Louis.

According to Johnson, ArtEast stands for Art Edwardsville-Alton Studio Tour and is a traveling art show that visits each of the sites that make up its name. It has expanded to galleries and other building in cities such as Highland, Maryville, Collinsville and Bethalto as well.

"Some of the venues where the art is displayed are local galleries and art shops, and buildings of historical or architectural interest," Johnson said.

The traveling art show made a stop at SIUE Saturday and Sunday and has been doing so since the Department of Art and Design was established in 1998. The show featured the works of Johnson and a couple hundred other artists for both students and faculty to observe.

"The exhibits that are at SIUE are usually here because of the artists' affiliation with the university," Johnson said, "although SIUE students, staff and faculty may also show elsewhere or open their own studios in the area."

According to the ArtEAST Web site, the varieties of art shown through ArtEAST are: digital art, drawing and illustration, glass, jewelry, mixed media and collage, painting, photography, sculptural forms and writing.

The Illinois State Art Council sponsors the program, and the Madison County Arts Council runs ArtEAST as an exhibit featuring more than 200 artists in the area, according to ArtEAST's Web site. There are also more than 40 venues, and SIUE holds two of them in the Art and Design Building and Lovejoy Library.

Continued...

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