The Hundred-Seven has selected Coahoma Community College as one of 20 top art programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Coahoma is listed among well-known institutions, including Morgan State University and Howard University.
The Hundred-Seven website, named for 107 higher learning institutions the U.S. Department of Education has classified as HBCUs, was created to positively promote historically black institutions. It features HBCUs and their alumni for outstanding achievements.
Based in the Barron-Miller Center for Fine Arts on the College's main campus, Coahoma's art curriculum is a flexible range building artistically versatile students. These sub-categories include 3-D design, ceramics, painting, and drawing.
In addition to the art department's giving CCC students a quality education, the College of Arts and Sciences of St. Ambrose University recently presented Art department chair Rosalind Wilcox with the Distinguished Alumni Award in a virtual ceremony. She received her bachelor's in art education from SAU.
In an effort to expose her students to the multi-faceted world of art, Wilcox has hosted visits from professional artists. With Clarksdale, Coahoma's municipal home, having a historically rich blues culture, Coahoma's art major is well known for portraiture of legendary bluesmen, including John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters.
Students meet local blues artists, photograph them, and transform the photos into art forms, said Wilcox.
"We're not just doing traditional foundations; we're taking it to the next level. We have a 3-D Design course where they create from clay, wood, plastic, and metal. They learn portraiture within the three dimensions and pottery, which is vessel-making," Wilcox detailed.
Digital means of creating with applications like Adobe Photoshop and Autodesk SketchBook are also part of her curriculum.
"If a teacher is open and exploring, it's going to help those students not to be afraid to do that," Wilcox continued.
"We really try to get the kids to think and slow down. It's not about being pretty; it's about getting in there, doing the work, researching, and if it's not right, do it again. I want them to develop a very strong work ethic. I'm relentless on that."
For a full list of The Hundred-Seven's 20 top HBCU art programs, visit http://www.thehundred-seven.org/art.html.