Image
Dayton Daily News: Professor creates alongside her students
By Central State University Communications
Posted Feb 09 2024
Erin M. Smith, an accomplished artist and professor of Studio Art at Central State University, looks back over her life and career in an interview the Dayton Daily News. A 2007 graduate of Central State, Smith has returned to her alma mater to impart her wisdom on today's Marauders.
Smith will be the keynote speaker at the 137th Charter Day Convocation at 10 a.m. March 5 in the Paul Robeson Cultural and Performing Arts Center at Central State University, 1400 Brush Row Road, Wilberforce, Ohio 45384. More information will be released soon.
“Once I make it to work, I use this time to meditate, which involves a collective of sound bowls, sketching and painting, and organizing my space before my students arrive to class," Smith told the DDN. "This ritual is important to me. I believe the space I set also sets the energy and tone in the atmosphere, which students need desperately. Students will arrive early just to see what I’m up to before class. The studio is a sanctuary for both me and the students.”
Image
During her upcoming keynote address, Smith will discuss the intersection of art and mental health and the current-day epidemic surrounding mental health.
Smith has work in the faculty exhibition at Central State, including her 4x8 foot mural, "Zion on the Swings." She has two upcoming solo exhibitions coming in March, which will explore the themes of nature and mental health, including "From the Inside Out" at Black Palette Art Gallery at 1139 Third St., Dayton, and "HAIR-itage" at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center in Cincinnati.
Learn more about Smith in from the Dayton Daily News.
