An Art Celebration 36 Years in the Making

On Friday, Jan. 31, the Ruffin Gallery celebrated the opening of a new exhibit curated by retiring art professor Megan Marlatt. Running through Feb. 14, "A Continuous Storyline" features the work of eight of Marlatt's former UVA students from across her four-decade career. 

"I've always thought my students were teaching me more than I was teaching them. I call them 'my students,' but they never really belonged to me," Marlatt said. "They had their own ambitions, fears, failures and triumphs that would lead them to choose whatever path they decided to tread, as I had mine. We'd all stumble around in the studio classroom, trying to realize our creative lives. I had to learn from them as much as teach them.

"I call this exhibition of my former students 'A Continuous Storyline' because each year would bring more students. The lessons would start again until 36 years had piled up behind nearly 1,800 students."

See how Marlatt celebrated the exhibit's opening with her colleagues, students and former protégés and other community members in this video (above).