Arts & Culture

Exhibit 'Umna' Honors UK Student/Artist’s Late Mother

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 11, 2013) — The University of Kentucky School of Art and Visual Studies presents "Umna," the first solo exhibition of MFA (Master of Fine Arts) student Abdul Al-Jumaily, Nov. 11-14, in the Tuska Center for Contemporary Art located in the Fine Arts Building. Hours for viewing this exhibition vary daily, and a closing reception will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 14, at the same location.

Al-Jumaily, an Iraqi born and U.S.-based artist, produces work that transforms the everyday into meditations on love and loss. "Umna" (translated to“Portrait of Houda” in English) is an allegorical representation of the artist’s mother, Houda Al Dahan, who died of HER2-positive breast cancer in 2012.

"Umna" is composed of an entirely new body of artwork which is comprised of objects and media related to Al Dahan’s life in the United States. Viewers are encouraged to take prints of artifacts belonging to Al Dahan prior to her death.

The UK School of Art and Visual Studies, at the UK College of Fine Arts, is an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the fields of art studioart history and visual studies and art education.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu