10 May ICC formally reopens W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center May 10, 2022 By Thomas, Donna S. General 0 Itawamba Community College formally reopened the newly-renovated W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center at the Fulton Campus during a ribbon cutting, Apr. 20. Renovations began in the fall of 2021 to restore the decades-old 24,000-square-foot facility, which had not received any major work since it was built in 1978. With upgrades to almost every inch of the facility, the state-of-the-art auditorium, lecture space, exhibit hall and lobby now boast modern designs that are more inviting to guests. The renovations were designed by McCarty Architects. Related Articles ICC to celebrate Week of the Arts, formally reopen W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center Itawamba Community College will celebrate the Week of the Arts, Apr. 19-22, with several special events at the Fulton Campus, including a ribbon cutting and formal reopening of the newly-renovated W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center auditorium. They first event will be a CenterStage concert, Apr. 19 at 7 p.m. at the Band Hall. The remaining activities, which will be at the W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center auditorium, are the ribbon cutting and open house, Apr. 20, 10 a.m.-noon; Fashion Show, Apr. 20, 6 p.m.; Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble concert, Apr. 21, 6:30 p.m.; and Choir and Chamber Choir concert, Apr. 22, 7 p.m. Renovations began in the fall of 2021 to restore the decades-old 24,000-square-foot facility, which had not received any major renovations since it was built in 1978. With upgrades to almost every inch of the facility, the state-of-the-art auditorium, lecture space, exhibit hall and lobby now boast modern designs that will be more inviting to all guests. The renovations were designed by McCarty Architects. The public is invited to all events. ICC student artwork featured in exhibit in newly-renovated W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center The artwork of several Itawamba Community College students is currently on display in the newly-renovated W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center at the Fulton Campus. The first student exhibition in the new space, which consists of approximately 80 pieces of art including drawing, painting, computer art and sculpture, will be on display until May 5. Artists include Taylor Braxton of Amory; Jamecia Walker of Baldwyn; Bayleigh Caldwell of Caledonia; McKenna Powell of Hatley; Alli Blansett, Makenzie Brooks, both of Houston; Olivia Jones of Mantachie; Francisco Garcia of Mooreville; Mia Coggin of Nettleton; Michaela Pearson, Rachel Gann, Kaitlin Stegall, Brianna Hall, Maria Tinajero, all of Pontotoc; Lily Wright of Red Bay, Ala.; Jaiden Hutson, Danielle Thompson, Elliana Parker, all of Saltillo; KaJatlon Clark of Shannon; Selena Crowley of Tremont; Ana Chambers, Drew Edmonson, Camille Campbell and Brianna Dent, all of Tupelo. Normal gallery hours are 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday through Thursday. For more information, email Shawn Whittington at eswhittington@iccms.edu or call (662) 862-8301. Tom Douglas's work now on display at ICC Fine Arts Center gallery Recent works by Fulton resident Tom Douglas will be on display from Jan. 29-Feb. 22 in the W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center gallery at the Itawamba Community College Fulton Campus. The exhibition, which is entitled Pathos and Whimsy, includes landscapes of Shiloh National Battlefield, which is on the route to Douglas’s native home in Tennessee. His intent is for the work to document curiosity and layered investigation. Douglas was a member of ICC’s art faculty from 1983 until he retired in 2013. Gallery hours are from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. except on days that the college is closed. For more information, contact Shawn Whittington at eswhittington@iccms.edu or call (662) 862-8301. Work of 94-year-old Virginia Jackson, one of ICC's first students, currently on display in Fine Arts Center Gallery “The Gift of Life,” a collection of paintings by 94-year-old Virginia Jackson of Tupelo, is currently on display in the W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center Gallery at the Itawamba Community College Fulton Campus. The show includes Jackson’s acrylic paintings of landscapes and country scenes as well as two acrylic paintings by her granddaughter, Morgan Davis. Jackson’s first recollection of an interest in art was when she received a box of Crayola crayons at the age of five. She recalls coloring the embossed flowers on doilies (small napkins or decorative mats), but she didn’t start painting until the age of 91 when her daughter, Jill Jackson King, bought her a set of acrylic paints. She describes herself as self-taught and paints most scenes from memory. Most of her paintings are landscape scenes of farm life and “pretty flowers,” but she experiments with abstracts, also. She was born Virginia Anthony in 1929 in her family’s home outside of Tremont. Her father built their house and raised crops, cattle and hogs on their farm during the Great Depression. Growing up, she ... ICC formally opens newly-renovated Student Activities Center at the Fulton Campus Itawamba Community College reopened its Student Activities Center with a formal ribbon cutting ceremony, Aug. 14, at the Fulton Campus. “It is with great pride and excitement that we gather to celebrate the opening of the newly renovated Student Activities Center,” said ICC President Dr. Jay Allen. “Just as with our recent residence hall ribbon cuttings at Monroe and Sheffield Halls, this is not just a physical transformation but a renewal of our commitment to providing a vibrant and supportive campus environment for our students.” ICC’s approximately 13,000-square-foot Student Activities Center, which opened in 1961 and the oldest building on the Fulton Campus, has had numerous facelifts over the years, but this renovation touched every aspect of the building, including a completely redesigned interior to maximize open space for seating and the addition of a new covered space on the back to provide students a place to dine in the event of inclement weather. Allen said that the new space will be called “The Yard.” The outdoor furniture will arrive soon and be installed with outdoor TVs. “Our ... 'Fort Spillman' on display in ICC Fine Arts Gallery through Oct. 2 The paintings of Memphis, Tenn.-based artist Bobby Spillman, which is the first exhibit hosted this fall in Itawamba Community College’s W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center Gallery at the Fulton Campus, will be on display through Oct. 2. The collection titled “Fort Spillman” consists of 12 large acrylic and mixed media paintings deeply layered in imagery surrounding cultural narrative and personal experience. “The work is a reaction to the day-to-day act of living,” Spillman said. “It is sometimes a compilation of ongoing subconscious chatter acting as a surface to collect the filtered distractions, and in other pieces, the artist focuses on a single image that reflects a more thought-out singular moment.” Inspired by cartoons, comics, satire, art history, traditional tattoo flash and childhood pop culture, Spillman’s works are created in a range of mediums from paint, ink, aerosol, collage and color pencil. Spillman, who earned his master’s degree from the University of Memphis, currently teaches advanced placement art in the Germantown Municipal School District. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. For more information, contact Shawn ... Comments are closed.