Duke Hall Gallery to feature multi-sensory design exhibition

JMU industrial design professors Audrey Barnes and Kevin Phaup’s latest work, WN2T (We Need to Talk), invites visitors to immerse themselves in a multi-sensory design exhibition. Scheduled to run March 15–April 10 at JMU’s Duke Hall Gallery of Fine Art, visitors can listen, read, speak, sing, whisper and shout into this collection of intertwined analog amplifiers. Simultaneously, a series of projected responses to the prompt, “we need to talk,” encourage visitors to better understand and empathize with others. 

“When someone says, ‘We need to talk,’ it’s a signal that the conversation is important, likely serious,” Barnes said. “Over the past year, we have all experienced significant changes in our daily lives. Social, political and climatic events were intensified by the ongoing pandemic. Our connections to others and our capacity for deep empathy have been strained by prolonged physical distancing. We need to talk. We owe it to ourselves.” 

The exhibition will be online and in person at the gallery, with an online conversation with the designers 2 p.m. April 5. Details will be available at the gallery website, https://www.jmu.edu/dukehallgallery/index.shtml. 

Barnes holds a master of industrial design degree from Rhode Island School of Design and a bachelor of industrial design degree from North Carolina State University. As area head of industrial design at JMU's School of Art, Design and Art History, Barnes advances a design thinking approach in her creative problem-solving to create new goods and services and to inspire action in her local community. 

Phaup earned a master of fine art in industrial design from the University of Notre Dame. At Miami University, he earned a bachelor of arts degree in architecture and a bachelor in fine arts in metals. Working across multiple disciplines, Phaup uses design to solve problems of mobility, accessibility and disaster relief. 

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Contact Beth Hinderliter, director of the Duke Hall Gallery of Fine Art, at (540) 568-6407 or by email at hindersb@jmu.edu for more information or to schedule a group visit. 

Gallery information:

The gallery is free to all guests. Please contact the gallery for groups larger than 25. Visit jmu.edu/dukehallgallery for location, hours and parking information. 

Duke Hall Gallery of Fine Art’s mission is to present the highest level of fine art experiences and to create an active space for robust discourse of vital issues facing our society. It is a space where the local and academic community share ideas about contemporary art and our wider cultural experiences. Art breaks barriers between languages and brings us together to be inspired and knowledgeable citizens, no matter where we come from.