Charly Palmer Selected Sesquicentennial Art Project Artist

Nashville, TN  The General Alumni Association of Fisk University, Inc. (GAAFU) is proud to announce today that Charly Palmer of Atlanta, GA has been selected as the artist for our 2016 Sesquicentennial Art project.

“We are excited about the committee’s selection of Mr. Palmer for this project. I feel strongly that Mr. Palmer has captured and internalized the essence of Fisk’s Sesquicentennial, and will present a work of art worthy of standing alongside other famed artists displayed in the Van Vechten,” says Vincent Leal, chairman of the GAAFU, Inc.

The work will commemorate the Sesquicentennial of historic Fisk University, embodying the University’s enduring spirit. Fisk University, the oldest college in Nashville, Tenn. and among the oldest Historically Black Colleges and Universities, was founded in 1866 and will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2016. The original artwork will be entered into Fisk’s highly acclaimed permanent collection and displayed in the university’s Carl Van Vechten gallery or the Aaron Douglas gallery.

Palmer is a nationally recognized artist and visual historian known for chronicling multiple histories: civil rights, music, sports and American history. Palmer has made a masterful and smooth transition from the specifically objective works of his earlier career, to abstract works of the recent past. In doing so, he unites symmetry and precision color blending with sharp and soft angles to underscore his intended messages. His primary color palette is rich and bold; synthesizing vibrancy and patterns with subtle and obvious outlines that highlight the relationship between objects and people.

This project will not only represent Fisk University’s 150th anniversary, the commemorative art work will be produced in limited (150) signed editions.

“We invite members of the GAAFU, Inc. to be among the first to purchase one of the limited prints. More information will be given later on the development, availability and process involved in obtaining the art,” says Leal.

The GAAFU was incorporated in Nashville, Tennessee in 1985. It is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization whose sole mission is to support Fisk University.

Founded in 1866, Fisk University is the oldest institution of higher education in Nashville, Tennessee and will celebrate its sesquicentennial in 2016. Fisk received a charter for the first chapter of The Phi Beta Kappa Society on a predominantly black campus in 1953. The school’s outstanding faculty and students continue to enhance the University’s national reputation for academic excellence that is validated year after year by leading third party reviewers, as well as by the continuous pool of talented applicants and large percentage of