This year marks the 25th Annual Arkansas College Art History Symposium, which encourages and recognizes student achievements in art history in the state.

It will be hosted through UALR’s Department of Art on Thursday and Friday, March 5 and 6.

Four undergraduates and one graduate student at UALR will join their colleagues from other Arkansas universities to deliver original research in 20-minute illustrated presentations, just as professional art historians do.

Students Missy Colter, Spencer Zahrn, and Hayley Chronister, with UALR’s Dr. Floyd Martin, founding member of the Statewide Art History Symposium.

Other UALR art history majors include undergraduate Jeannie Lee and graduate student Susan Moneyhon.

The symposium also encourages cooperation among art history faculty throughout the state.

Dr. Elise Smith, professor of art history at Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss., will be this year’s keynote speaker.

On Thursday, March 5, Smith will give the lecture titled, “Contemporary Museum Architecture: the ‘Selfless’ or ‘Sexy’ Controversy,” at 7:30 p.m. in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall in the Fine Arts Building.

Smith will also deliver a closing presentation on March 6, “One Meandering Journey: Making Sense of Some Odd Art Historical Choices,” at 3:15 p.m in room 161 of the Fine Arts Building.

Smith’s dissertation at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill examined a 16th-century Northern European artist. Recently her research interests have shifted to 19th-century Victorian painting as well as women and garden imagery in English art and literature from 1750-1950.

Graduate and post-bacalaurreate students will present their papers from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, March 5 in room 161 of the Fine Arts Building. On March 6, outstanding student papers will be presented on a variety of topics from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in room 161 of the Fine Arts Building.

Listeners may come and go between papers.

The Annual Arkansas College Art History Symposium was established in 1991 by Dr. Floyd Martin of UALR and Dr. Gayle Seymour of UCA.

For more information, contact contact Martin at fwmartin@ualr.edu.