Camille Mattingly ’22 Curates Art Show with Arrow Creative

For her Certificate of Arts senior project, Camille Mattingly ’22 curated a gallery featuring work from 11 artists who are seniors in high school, including herself and seven other Hutchison students. It will be on view at Arrow through February 26.
Realizing that you are becoming a young adult can be an emotional experience, and Camille Mattingly ’22 knew the best way to express her feelings was through art. She also knew she was not alone on this journey. Camille values the Hutchison community and being in a community of artists, so when it came time to create her Certificate of Arts capstone project, she combined those two aspects. She organized and participated in EIGHTEEN, a gallery show featuring work by artists who are all seniors in high school.

Senior year is a time full of changes and bittersweet “lasts,” but also hope as teenagers reflect and consider what their future could hold. For her capstone project, Camille needed to showcase her identity as an artist and her work throughout her four years in upper school. She sought to provide an outlet for these emotions while highlighting the importance of community.

We're all doing different forms of art to express these hard and powerful emotions of growing up, getting older, and being a senior.

She started in May by reaching out and creating a community of 11 artists, eight from Hutchison, one from Christian Brothers High School, one from Collierville High School, and one from St. Mary’s Episcopal School. Hutchison artists include herself, Sara Kate Burnett ’22, Natalie Hall ’22, Lillie Hollabaugh ’22, Curren Ligon ’22, Ella Luter ’22, Shubhi Singh ’22, and Stephanie Woodbury ’22. They work with various mediums, including painting, short films, piano, spoken word, sculpture, and textile. Getting artists to participate was just the beginning.

Art by Stephanie Woodbury ’22
Photo by Lillie Hollabaugh ’22

“There’s so much more that goes into curating an art show than just asking people for their art, putting it up on the walls, and having the event,” Camille said.

She wrote a curatorial statement, collected artist work and artist statements, framed work, figured out how to showcase what couldn’t be framed, and created a pamphlet, among many other tasks. She said it was fun handling the details, and she is proud of the growth she has seen in herself while putting together the show.

“I’m an introvert, so going into such huge social settings has been a challenge for me. It can be hard for me to be extroverted, but I’ve learned that it is important to reach out to people and engage with the community,” Camille said.

Camille also had some inspiration and experience going into this. When she expressed interest in an arts internship, Tracey Ford, Hutchison arts and community engagement director, connected her with Arrow Creative. Arrow bills itself as "a hub for the Memphis creative community," and provides year-round classes, as well as a space where artists can work and visitors can interact with the artists and buy their work. Camille started as an intern there over the summer and has continued working for them as a programs assistant. She said her job entails helping with whatever Arrow needs, including working retail, setting up for creative classes, and updating their website and email lists. She loves it.

“Arrow has a wonderful community of artists that I’ve really grown to love and consider my family,” Camille said. She added that she is grateful for everyone who helped her out with the show, from her coworkers at Arrow to her neighbors. She also credits the art education that Hutchison has given her. 

“I don't know what type of artist I would be without the resources and the opportunities here at Hutchison,” Camille said.

Art by Camille Mattingly ’22
Photo by Lillie Hollabaugh ’22

Camille has attended Hutchison since early childhood, and describes her time as “joy-filled.” She took her first art class at Hutchison, and beyond visual arts, has participated in theatre productions, acting in most of the school’s shows since fourth grade and creating makeup designs. 

“Hutchison has been everything that I’ve needed to prepare me for going off to college,” Camille said. “I’ve grown up here. I’ve met so many wonderful people. I’ve gotten a fantastic arts education as well as an unbelievable liberal arts education. It has provided a great foundational experience to move on to the next chapter in my life.”

Camille hopes to study art history and go into museum studies. She wants to study abroad and said she is interested in starting a nonprofit similar to Arrow Creative. She said access to art and community engagement are important to her because of her time at Hutchison and Arrow.

EIGHTEEN’s opening reception was on January 22, picked to honor the Class of 2022. The gallery will be open at Arrow Creative until February 26. 

Camille Mattingly '22 speaking at the opening reception of her art show
Photo by Lillie Hollabaugh '22

Gretchen Gintz, Katie Sentilles, Rachel Mattson, Mattingly, Pam Shumake, Mackenzie Daniel, Lauren Colpitts, and Katy Nair at the show at Arrow Creative.
Photo by Lillie Hollabaugh '22

Natalie Hall '22 performed an original song at the opening reception.
Photo by Lillie Hollabaugh '22

Actress Curren Ligon '22 performed a Shakespearean monologue.
Photo by Lillie Hollabaugh '22

Art by Camille Mattingly '22
Photo by Lillie Hollabaugh '22
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