You might meander over to Schneider Hall Galleries, for example, to peruse Hite’s current exhibition: “.”

The show, which runs through Aug. 30, investigates mental health and the healing process known as post-trauma growth, the sense of well-being after a traumatic event.

It features 10 local artists, many of them UofL alumni, and was curated by two Hite students, Sara Cissell and Diana Dillman. Cissell is graduating with her BA in Art History and Humanities this fall, while Dillman graduated last year and now works at the Kentucky Derby Museum.

The idea was born in their Art History Capstone class. The two began talking about mental health and how to facilitate healthy, open dialogue about the topic.

“When people think about mental health, most people think of the term as negative. Sara and I wanted to shine a more positive light on these issues. We want to spark positive conversations around mental health. By including artists in our show who share their own experiences with trauma/mental health, it encourages others to spark recovery in themselves,” Dillman said.

Cissel said the topic is particularly close to her as she has depression and anxiety.

“Mental health is one of those topics that no one knows how to talk about. Even though this is a topic I know very well from my own experiences, I don’t know how other people feel. How do you go about breaking down those barriers in a constructive way?” she said.

After conceiving of the show, they reached out to local artists they know and admire and asked for submissions.

Many of the featured artists have experienced their own trauma and used art to document healing or progression. For example, Megan Bickel, a Hite MFA candidate, created a piece that suggests illusions surrounding truth through mimicking patterns and textiles that cause discomfort and confusion.

Other artists focused on the soothing effects of healing. Andrew and Simon Cozzens’ visual and sound installation piece “Mind Full Change” shows the visual effects of the brain, as if the viewer were looking at a CT scan. By manipulating color pigments to move along the platforms with a binaural beat, the red color eventually becomes blue, which symbolizes calm.

Then there are artists who embrace both the chaos and reflective qualities of mental health. Brianna Harlan and Tammy Richardson’s installation piece “Living Room” creates a cozy, safe space with a couch, lamps and photographs of both public and intimate spaces void of human life.

“I’d had Sara Cissel and Diana Dillman in classes before this one, so I already knew that they were smart, hard-working, knowledgeable and perceptive. Having said that, the show that they co-curated stunned me with its excellence on multiple levels,” said Benjamin Hufbauer, assistant professor of art history. “Sara and Diana created a show that is so rich and rewarding visually, but also connects emotionally and conceptually in different ways with different people… I recommend everyone interested in the topic go see this show by these amazing and generous talents, who did all the work involved as a public service.”

From Jan. 19-Feb. 24, the will display drawings by Grubola that emerged from his return to a 43-year practice of drawing weekly. The opening reception is 6 p.m. Jan. 19.

“When my 17-year tenure as chair ended in 2010, along with its administrative burdens, I was able to return to my first two loves: drawing human figures and teaching full time,” he said.

He began hiring a model for drawing in the Hite studios on Fridays, hence the exhibition title, “The Friday Sessions.”  

Grubola also spent decades drawing moving bodies and recently returned to drawing dancers at the Louisville Ballet’s Thursday rehearsals. These sessions formed his second new body of work, “The Thursday Sessions,” also on display at the Cressman.

In celebration of Grubola’s significant impact as a teacher, Hite Art Institute is also hosting an exhibition of work by Grubola’s many former students. “Selections from the teachings of James Grubola” is on display through Feb. 9 in .

Grubola’s show was recently featured in , which noted his distinguished teaching career. 

“For James Grubola, the most important metric is established by his students, so the crucial measure is in the achievements from thousands of people who earned their Bachelor’s degrees through UofL since 1975, when he joined the faculty. But the credentials and formal recognitions are certainly there:

• 2001 – “Red Apple Award” for excellence in teaching from UofL’s Alumni Association.
• 2008 –  the “Trustee’s Award,” one of the university’s highest awards which annually recognizes one faculty member who has had the greatest positive impact on students.
• 2015 – College of Arts and Sciences “Distinguished Faculty Award in Teaching.”

Under Grubola’s leadership as chair, Hite saw the introduction of the Mary Spencer Nay Scholarship Endowment, the addition of a program in glass housed in the Cressman Center, the university’s first, permanent, non-medical facility downtown, and the adoption of a selective admissions policy for the department. 

“Early in their careers, Grubola and his wife, artist and curator Kay Grubola, were artists-in-residence at the Christopher Ballet in Michigan, and when he was a graduate student at Indiana University he drew during ballet classes, so the interest in dance figures is nothing new, yet it is interesting that an artist who favors silverpoint and goldpoint as mediums should be focused so intently on the kineticism of choreographed movement,” wrote Artebella … “The kineticism is there, formed in vigorous line around the barely detectable dancers in motion – think of the Tasmanian Devil cartoon character in full whirling dervish mode. The suggestion of animation seems entirely appropriate to the forceful way Grubola captures the grace and athleticism of dance with such immediacy. The artist has a deep and profound relationship to the world of ballet that is communicated with great clarity.”