Fall 2026 Series Lineup
The Creative Professionals Lecture Series invites a broad range of interdisciplinary practitioners including artists, designers, curators, educators and historians to engage with the campus and local communities. The Watkins College of Art is committed to inviting diverse and innovative voices that propel the transformative power of art and design forward. In addition to public lectures, students benefit from personal engagement with speakers through class visits and studio critiques.
This lecture series is FREE and open to the public.
Oct 01 | Walking with the Enemy: The Art of Subversive Mimicry in the Post-Truth Era
This event will be held in the Janet Ayers Academic Center (4th Fl Conference Room) at 4:00 PM.
Gediminas Gasparavičius, Associate Professor at the University of Akron, and Tom Williams, Assistant Professor of Art History at Belmont University, discuss their new collection of essays on contemporary art in an age of deception and “a crisis of truth.” The collection features essays by 17 writers, each examining instances in which artists embrace positions that they otherwise oppose. They will highlight the history of subversive mimicry, as well as some of the key arguments presented in the book.
This event is presented in conjunction with Belmont University’s 25th Annual Humanities Symposium.
Oct 05 | Designing Sacred Space | Trey Trahan, FAIA
This event will be held in the Leu Center for the Visual Arts (Room 120) beginning at 5:00 PM.
Victor F. “Trey” Trahan III FAIA, Founder & CEO of Trahan Architects, will reflect on his career and design philosophy, highlighting projects that have shaped his practice, including the award-winning Chapel of St. Ignatius, featured in The Architecture of Prayer exhibition, and the Gayle and Tom Benson Jesuit Center at Loyola University New Orleans. The Architecture of Prayer is on view in Gallery 121 from August 19 through October 23 and presents historic drawings alongside contemporary sacred architecture from more than 25 leading international design firms.
Following the lecture, Rick Archer, Dean of the O'More College of Architecture and Design at Belmont University, will moderate a conversation with Trahan, joined by Amanda Iglesias, curator of The Architecture of Prayer and Belmont University Senior Faculty Fellow, and Robbie Eleazer, AIA, Design Director for Trahan Architects.
Oct 19 | Contemporary Photography in Nashville
This event will be held in the Leu Center for the Visual Arts (Room 120) beginning at 5:00 PM.
Join photographers Caroline Allison, Arielle Gray, and Kristine Potter for a conversation moderated by Nashville Scene Arts Editor Laura Hutson Hunter about the state of contemporary photography in Nashville. The panel will explore how local photographers are engaging with documentary practice through personal narrative, formal experimentation, alternative processes, and the shifting boundaries between fact and fiction.
This event is presented in conjunction with Obscuring, Revealing, a group exhibition in the Leu Gallery featuring twelve Nashville-based photographers who are pushing the boundaries of documentary practice and rethinking what photography makes visible—and what it obscures.
Oct 26 | The Role of Contemporary Art in Urban Development
This event will be held in the Leu Center for the Visual Arts (Room 120) beginning at 5:00 PM.
How can you participate in shaping Nashville’s urban development?
This is a pivotal moment in Nashville's history. The construction of the new Nissan stadium along with the news that Nashville will host the 2030 Super Bowl underscores the city's growing popularity and raises questions about public investment, urban planning, identity, and long-term impact. Through moderated discussion, panelists closely connected with Nashville’s urban development and art communities will demystify the civic design process while exploring contemporary art as a means of processing and participating in it.
Moderated by Watkins College of Art Assistant Professor Mandy Rogers Horton, this discussion will explore how architecture functions as symbols for collective values, and reflect on the role of art and artists in civic discourse.
The Creative Professionals Lecture Series is presented by the Watkins College of Art at Belmont University and made possible through grant funding provided by the Tennessee Arts Commission.
