"Red Hot" photograph by Allen Taylor Art Show Displays Talents Of Erskine Students An exhibit of works by Erskine College students will be displayed at the Bowie Arts Center beginning today and continuing through May 11. Assistant Professor of Art Sharon Linnehan, who was hanging the exhibit Tuesday, said she is excited about the student entries in this year's art show. The works are also to be entered in a competition, with an outside judge examining the works Friday. Donated cash prizes for first and second place will be awarded. "Everyone is in the contest," said Linnehan. "The only criterion is that you have to be a currently enrolled Erskine student. " Linnehan is enthusiastic about the expansion of Erskine's art program, and for her, the student art exhibit and contest are indicators of what is happening in the art department. "I think part of the intention of this show and the contest is to promote the new art major, to get people to try taking some art courses." Courses in graphic arts, taught by Instructor Jan Walker, have been added to the studio art and art history classes available at Erskine this year. "We are thrilled with the new graphic arts program and our wonderful new equipment," said Linnehan."Right now we are offering four different emphases: painting, printmaking, drawing, and graphic design." Art majors are required to take courses in at least three of the four areas, Linnehan said, and they are must also take three art history courses. Dr. Alex Patrick of Greenville, a member of Erskine's Friends of the Arts, follows the development of the art program with keen interest. "If you are a liberal arts school, you ought to have an art program," he said. "I think the expansion of the art program shows a real commitment on the part of the Board of Trustees to the support of art at Erskine." Patrick believes the Bowie Arts Center itself is one of Erskine's great assets. "No other college has an arts facility like this," he said. He has donated works by state and regional artists that are exhibited in the center's Patrick Gallery. Some of these works are displayed in offices on the Erskine campus through a rotation program that allows offices to select works to display for a given period, then return them to the center. The Bowie Arts Center, opened in 1995, is home to several permanent exhibits and also hosts traveling exhibits. It is the site of such festive events as the annual South Carolina Colonial Christmas presentation at Erskine. Normal hours of operation for the Bowie Arts Center are Monday through Thursday, 1-4:30 p.m., Saturday 2-4 p.m., and the first Sunday of each month, 2-4 p.m. For more information, contact Margaret Adams at 864-379-8867.