Join Us for the Opening Reception & Artist Talk: Kindly Mirrors and Lamentations & Exultations

This summer, the Floyd Center for the Arts invites you to experience two deeply moving exhibitions that explore the tender threads of everyday life, memory, and resilience — each in its own unique way. Join us for our Opening Reception and Artist Talk on Saturday, July 26 from 4-6pm. The event is free and open to the public with refreshments and a cash bar.

Kindly Mirrors in the Hayloft Gallery

Presented by our friends at Old Church Gallery, Kindly Mirrors offers an intimate look into life in Floyd County over a century ago. Between 1912 and 1917, young couple Gertrue and Dick Shank used a simple Brownie camera to document their daily world. Their thirty-two photographs preserve timeless moments: a lamb being bottle-fed, children playing hide and seek, a riverside baptizing — scenes that still feel strikingly present today.

Curated by Alice Slusher, Ricky Cox, and Catherine Pauley, the exhibition draws its name from Vladimir Nabokov’s beautiful words on how ordinary life becomes precious when reflected through time’s “kindly mirrors.” These lovingly restored images, some newly exhibited, invite us to see the quiet joys and labors of the past as quietly exquisite.

Kindly Mirrors runs through August 23, so be sure to catch it while you can.

Lamentations & Exultations in the Falcon Gallery

In the Falcon Gallery, artist Charlie Brouwer shares Lamentations & Exultations, a series of sculptures and bold new charcoal drawings created after sudden vision loss left him legally blind in 2022. No longer able to drive or safely use power tools, Charlie began sketching the trees he glimpsed as a passenger through the Blue Ridge — letting thick charcoal lines run like rain or tears across paper and canvas.

His powerful works capture fleeting landscapes and echo the emotional sweep of lament and joy. This exhibition continues through October 4.

Opening Reception & Artist Talk

We’re kicking off these incredible shows with a free Opening Reception at the Center, complete with refreshments and a cash bar on Saturday, July 26 from 4-6pm. The evening will feature a special Artist Talk with curators Alice Slusher and Ricky Cox, who will share the fascinating stories behind Kindly Mirrors.

It’s the perfect chance to explore these meaningful works, connect with fellow art lovers, and celebrate the enduring creative spirit that makes Floyd so special.

Don’t miss it! Bring a friend, meet the artists and curators, and experience how art continues to reveal beauty, truth, and humanity — even across generations and life’s unexpected turns.