50 Years Later

Davidson National Print and Drawing Competition

Van Every Gallery

On View: August 24, 2026— September 27, 2026

Opening Reception: September 17, 2026, 6:30 pm— 8:00 pm

Between 1972 and 1976, the Davidson National Print and Drawing Competition brought some of the most compelling contemporary works on paper to Davidson College. Conceived of by Herb Jackson ’67 in the early days of his more than forty-year teaching career at Davidson, the exhibition invited leading voices in the art world—including Marcia Tucker and... Read More >

A large, rectangular monochrome artwork composed of heavily creased paper sheets arranged in a grid pattern. The surface is predominantly dark charcoal grey or black with visible grid lines and diagonal folds. A single horizontal band of lighter, off-white or silver paper sheets extends across the middle right portion of the composition.

Upcoming

Past

2026 Exhibitions

2026

ArtMate

Smith Gallery

On View: June 05, 2026— September 09, 2026

Opening Reception: September 9, 2026, 5:30 pm— 7:30 pm

Only open to the first 135 students who registered in advance!

ArtMate is an art-lending program that allows students to borrow a work from the Galleries’s art collection for their residence hall room for the academic year. Gallery staff and interns selected over 145 pieces out of the 4,400 works in the college’s permanent art collection spanning centuries, regions, and genres to provide a variety of... Read More >

2026

Herb Jackson Annual Student Art Exhibition

Van Every Gallery

On View: April 22, 2026— May 07, 2026

Opening Reception: April 22, 2026, 7:00 pm— 8:30 pm

Awards at 7:15 p.m.

The Van Every/Smith Galleries and the Davidson College Art Department will present the Herb Jackson Annual Student Art Exhibition in the Van Every Gallery from April 22 to May 7, 2026, with a reception on April 22 from 7-8:30 p.m. Awards will be presented at 7:15 p.m. The exhibition highlights more than 60 works produced... Read More >

2026

Senior Art Majors 2026

Van Every Gallery

On View: March 02, 2026— May 16, 2026

Join us for our senior art major solo capstone exhibitions. These exhibitions take place in the Smith Gallery between March 2-May 16, 2026, and include receptions and gallery talks for each student artist. Courtney Sanders ’26: Onion Lover On View: Mar. 2-6, Mar. 16 & 17 Reception: Mar. 6, 4:30-5:30 P.M. To learn more about... Read More >

Alternative Medicine

Healing Remedies for Harmful Times

Van Every Gallery

On View: February 11, 2026— April 12, 2026

Opening Reception: February 11, 2026, 5:30 pm— 7:30 pm

When was the last time you took an aspirin? A sleep aid? A vitamin or supplement? For many of us, pills are so routine they barely register. We carry them in bags and briefcases, store them in bathroom cabinets and desk drawers, and buy them in pharmacies that now double as walk-in clinics. The word... Read More >

2025 Exhibitions

Vibrant quilt-like artwork with stars, stripes, and fragments of the American flag in bold colors and patterns.

Hank Willis Thomas

We The People

Van Every / Smith Galleries

On View: October 10, 2025— February 01, 2026

This exhibition presents a selection of diverse works in various media by Hank Willis Thomas, offering a deeper look into the artist’s explorations of identity, history, and collective memory. Presented in conjunction with the dedication of With These Hands: A Memorial to the Enslaved and Exploited, the exhibition invites reflection on the ways Thomas’s broader... Read More >

Silhouette of a woman in front of a multi-colored video projection showing plants and artchitecture

Studio Art Faculty

Explorations

Van Every Gallery

On View: August 25, 2025— October 01, 2025

Opening Reception: September 10, 2025, 5:30 pm— 7:30 pm

Explorations celebrates the creative research of the art department’s studio art faculty, Joelle Dietrick (in collaboration with Owen Mundy), Luis Sahagún, Tyler Starr, and Katie St. Clair, whose practices span a wide range of media, methods, and concepts. As working artists and educators, each contributes to the academic life of the college as well as... Read More >

2025

ArtMate

Smith Gallery

On View: June 03, 2025— September 09, 2025

ArtMate is an art-lending program that allows students to borrow a work from the Galleries’s art collection for their residence hall room for the academic year. Gallery staff and interns selected over 125 pieces out of the 4,200 works in the college’s permanent art collection spanning centuries, regions, and genres to provide a variety of... Read More >

Annual Student Art Exhibition reception 2023

2026

Herb Jackson Annual Student Art Exhibition

Van Every Gallery

On View: April 21, 2025— May 08, 2025

Opening Reception: April 22, 2026, 7:00 pm— 8:30 pm

Awards at 7:15 p.m.

The Van Every/Smith Galleries and the Davidson College Art Department presented the Herb Jackson Annual Student Art Exhibition in the Van Every Gallery from April 21 to May 7, 2025, with a reception on April 22 from 7-8:30 p.m. This year, the exhibition was named in honor of Herb Jackson ’67 who taught at Davidson... Read More >

detail of abstract artwork by Evie Mulhern '25 featuring geometric patterns with multicolored squares and lines intersecting, creating a dynamic, layered effect.

2025

Senior Art Majors 2025

Smith Gallery

On View: March 21, 2025— May 07, 2025

Join us for our senior art major solo capstone exhibitions. Bimal Shahi ’25: Way of Life On View: March 19 – March 25, 2025 Reception: March 21, 2025, 4:15 pm—5:30 pm Learn more about Bimal’s exhibition here. La’Nisha Rodgers ’25: Between Here and Me On View: March 29-April 4, 2025 Reception: April 2,... Read More >

See All Past Exhibitions