Oct. 20, 2009

PHOTO GALLERY

In an event spearheaded by UC Davis football player Brandon Tucker, the "Art of Athletes" art show completed a successful three-day run at the Log Cabin Gallery in downtown Davis during the Homecoming Weekend of October 16-18. The show featured 22 works of art, all by Aggie student-athletes, comprising a multitude of disciplines.

The genesis of the Art of Athletes show dates back to the late spring of 2009, when several pieces of art were on display at the third-annual Aggie Idol, a charity talent show run by the UC Davis Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Subsequently, Mike Henderson, a professor with the university's art studio department, inspired Tucker with the idea of an art show at a local gallery.

"From what I can tell by the guestbook, we had alumni, retirees, professors, campus administrators, student-athletes, coaches and athletics administrators, and visitors from the Davis community," said Michelle Roppeau, the director of UC Davis Athletic Academic Advising, who helped Tucker organize the show.

"One of Brandon's goals was to show that there is more than one definition of student-athlete, but there is also more than one definition of an artist," said Roppeau. "I think he met those goals. We were able to produce a show, in a very limited amount of time, that really showcased our student-athletes."

A team of volunteers, including SAAC members and the artists themselves, took turns staffing the event throughout the weekend. Friday's portion included a "Meet the Artists" event, at which many of the student-athlete contributors were in attendance to discuss their works with the guests.

In addition to Tucker, the student-athletes who contributed their artwork are: Mark Jay Acosta (wrestling), Hana Asano (women's basketball), Bianca Castillo (softball), Libby Cooper (track & field), Christina Corsa (women's lacrosse), Kayleigh Foley (women's swimming & diving), Bakari Grant (football), Danielle Herrington (field hockey), Chantel Hibbard (women's gymnastics), Winsome Hitchcock (women's volleyball), Samantha Lew (women's rowing), Amanda Marinac (field hockey), Laura Martin (women's lacrosse), Brittney O'Brien (women's rowing), Brooke O'Brien (women's rowing), Shelley Shamir (women's rowing), Hannah Stephens (women's basketball), Kristina Taylor (women's track & field/cross country), John Thurston (wrestling), Melinda Zavala (women's track & field).

A photo gallery of the 22 exhibits is available at http://www.ucdavisaggies.com/view.gal?id=56112.

Thank you letter from Brandon Tucker