During the Fall 2024 semester, Professor of Art Mary Johnson collaborated with Teaching and Learning Librarian Jacob Lackner to design a unique assignment that would join studio arts with the Oxford College Library. As part of Art 105_E Introduction to Painting, Professor Johnson and her students visited the library to become familiar with library resources. Students selected a painting from one of the Oxford Library’s art books or an electronic database, and used it as the starting point for their final painting of the semester. After finishing their paintings, students brought them to the library and completed a submission form with information about their own work and their reference painting.
Jacob Lackner compiled the reports and recruited a library student employee, Irem Erdem, to act as a student curator. Erdem analyzed the submissions, grouped the paintings for display, and wrote text for their descriptive panels, which was used to build the exhibit. The project was designed as an educational experience for both the student painters and the student curator. It aligns with Oxford College’s Strategic Priority 1: Deliver an Inspired and Integrated Academic Experience.
Paint by Page is on display on the second floor of the Oxford College Library during the Spring 2025 semester.