On August 25, the Department of Art and Design hosted the opening reception for the Paint Rock: Drawing Knowledge from Nature exhibition. The exhibition will be open to the public through September 25!

The event welcomed guest speaker Bill Finch, who communicated the significance of Alabama’s forests, streams, and grasslands for all of North America. The exhibition featured artists from Alabama, interpreting nature, science, and conservation through their own creative lens.

In Paint Rock, art intersects with nature, conservation, and scientific discovery. Eighteen Alabama artists offer their vision of the forested Paint Rock Valley – a place of extraordinary beauty, biodiversity, and significance for the future of North America’s forests, grasslands, and streams.

By drawing knowledge from nature, we emphasize the importance of developing a deep understanding of nature from multiple perspectives. In this spirit, each artist visited The Nature Conservancy’s Sharp-Bingham Mountain Preserve and engaged with the pioneering research supported by the Paint Rock Forest Research Center. Their works interpret those experiences through diverse artistic practices – inviting curiosity, ecological insight, and reflection. Artists became scientific explorers; scientists became artists.

Participating artists include Kendra Abbott, John Abbott, Patrice Anderson, Douglas Baulos, Elaine Booth, Shay Clanton, Doug Clark, Mary Dunn, Sarah Ellis, Beth Finch, Jamey Grimes, Leah Hamel, Bryce Lafferty, Allison McElroy, Celeste Amparo Pfau, Sakora Smeby, John Simmons, and Morgan Worsham.

The exhibition is supported by the Paint Rock Forest Research Center, the Department of Art and Design at Jax State, and the Alabama State Council on the Arts.

Visit the Jax State Art blog to learn more about the intersection of art, science, and conservation at Paint Rock: https://www.jsuartblog.org/paint-rock-drawing-knowledge-from-**nature/**

Bill Finch is the founding director of the Paint Rock Forest Research Center and a passionate voice for nature and conservation in Alabama. His vision for Paint Rock, in part shaped by his friendship with E.O. Wilson, includes not just groundbreaking science but also perspectives of the humanities, inviting artists, writers, and thinkers into the heart of ecological inquiry.

An advocate and writer, Bill authored Longleaf: As Far as the Eye Can See, a collaboration with photographer Beth Finch that captures the beauty and complexity of one of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems. Bill served as environmental reporter and editor for the Mobile Press, executive director of the Mobile Botanical Gardens, and Conservation Director for the Alabama Chapter of The Nature Conservancy.

To learn more about the Paint Rock Forest Research Center and the groundbreaking science conducted there, visit: https://paintrock.org/