Karen Gergely Finds Success as a Visiting Artist Instructor at the WVGHA

Graceland University Assistant Professor of Art Karen Gergely, MFA

Graceland University Assistant Professor of Art Karen Gergely, MFA, was a visiting artist instructor at the West Virginia Governor’s Honors Academy (WVGHA) this summer at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. WVGHA is a three-week intensive academy for high-achieving high school honor students entering their senior year. Gergely’s intensive class focused on revitalizing Appalachia through public art initiatives.

Students immersed themselves into the Huntington community and did a great amount of research before working with community members to paint a 50’ x 12’ mural on a historical building in Huntington’s Central City. An article featuring the project was written by Amanda Larch and featured in Huntington’s Herald-Dispatch. The article was picked up by US News and World Report and was seen in many newspapers all over the country including the Marietta Daily Journal in Ohio; Waco Tribune-Herald; the Eagle in Bryan, Texas; Star-Telegram in Fort Worth, Texas; the Saratogian in New York; and the Miami Herald, among others. You can read the story and see images of the mural project on the AP news website.