Morehead State art professors exhibit at ArtFields competition
Professor of Art Gary Mesa-Gaido and Associate Professor of Art Dr. Robyn Moore exhibited their work in the 12-state regional juried ArtFields Exhibition & Competition this past spring in Lake City, South Carolina.
They were selected from over 1,400 submissions by art professionals in the fields and were two of seven artists representing Kentucky. At the end of the exhibit, Mesa-Gaido's four-piece submission was purchased for a private collection, and he was selected for the Southeastern Partner Award: ArtFields, a solo exhibition at Trax Visual Art Center in the spring of 2025.
Mesa-Gaido has exhibited his work at ArtFields on and off since the event began in 2013. ArtFields' primary mission is to honor the artists of the Southeast with a festival and competition in a traditional Southern small town.
"I was initially attracted to the arts festival because it had such a unique perspective on an arts festival than I had seen before," Mesa-Gaido said. "The main goals were to first attract interesting artists and art to their small town and to get the community to join in by becoming invested in the art by hosting those works of art in their businesses and venues. It has worked very well for the last decade.”
Moore applied this past year with the encouragement of Professor of Art and Gary's wife, Lisa Mesa-Gaido.
"It was so exciting to have work selected and even more exciting to be able to travel there with Gary and Lisa so we could enjoy it all together," Moore said. "I'm thrilled that Gary was awarded a solo exhibition. The award of a solo exhibition is an incredible honor— one that Gary really deserves."
Learn more about programs in the Department of Communication, Media, Art & Design by emailing cmad@moreheadstate.edu or calling 606-783-2766.
Photos: Both Professor of Art Gary Mesa-Gaido (upper right) and Associate Professor of Art Dr. Robyn Moore (lower left) exhibited their work at the ArtFields Exhibition & Competition in South Carolina.
