The University Library is bringing back the artists gallery in Fall 2011.

Diane Sperko, library communications director for the University Library, started the gallery nine years ago.

“I established a gallery in the lobby of Audio Visual Services in 2002 to showcase artwork and photography by Kent State students, faculty, staff and friends of KSU,” Sperko said.

The exhibit, which used to be located on the third floor, will be moved to the first floor this year. Artwork will be displayed throughout the reference and study area.

“The gallery is moving to the first floor to be more visible to public,” Sperko said.

The last exhibition was in the winter of 2010 and featured photographs by Jay Frye—the manager of information technology in the Information Services department—who photographs wild birds around Ohio and other nearby states.

In the past, exhibits have featured graphic design work, visual storytelling pieces and photographs of people’s travels.

The first exhibition for fall will feature student photographs from a study abroad trip to Greece and Turkey. It will run throughout the fall semester and an opening reception is being planned for the first or second week of school.

Bryan Rinnert, a visual communication design professor, took a group of nine photography majors and one graduate student to study the culture abroad.

“We spent six days in Turkey and four days in Greece, though two of the days in Greece we were on a cruise through the Greek Islands,” Rinnert said.

The gallery will have various themes to display the cultures of Turkey and Greece.

“I plan to have a few different themes through the work in the library since we have several walls to work with,” Rinnert said. “Some will be cultural photos showing more local people and portraits, another will be travel photos and landscapes.”

Sperko said the library plans to have more exhibits throughout the year, but a schedule has not yet been made official.

Contact Summer Kent Stater reporter Nicole Delsanter at [email protected].