The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is primarily known as a provider of electricity throughout Sacramento County, but the company is far from one-dimensional. The SMUD Gallery in downtown Sacramento held its opening reception for the American River College Faculty Exhibition on March 21; the show, which displays artwork from professors at ARC, continues through the semester.
Patricia Wood, director of the James Kaneko Gallery, is one of the ARC faculty members who submitted artwork.
“SMUD actually has rotating art shows,” Wood said. “But most people don’t go SMUD to look at the art, they just go there to pay their bill … SMUD is part of the public system, and these places that are public services often host art exhibitions.
Wood credits Lorrie Kempf — a curator for the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission — for reaching out to ARC faculty to coordinate the show. Craig Smith, an art professor at ARC, was the first to hear from Kempf.
“She contacted me about having an exhibition [at the SMUD Gallery,]” said Smith. “I’ve been in a two-person show there and a couple of other groups shows there and we know each other relatively well through that. So she contacted me just to be another person to help facilitate the show.”
Like Wood, Smith also submitted some of his own work into the show. Smith is very appreciative of Kempf for providing an opportunity for him and other faculty members to display their work somewhere other than the ARC campus.
“It’s very nice of her [to give us] an extra opportunity for us to present [our work] as a group,” Smith said.
The SMUD faculty show will continue through May 22, and will be open during the gallery’s standard business hours, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
