Several Missouri State University faculty, students and alumni from the Department of Art and Design attended the 2026 Mid-South Sculpture Alliance (MSA) Confab Oct. 2-3 at the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) in Conway, Arkansas.

The Confab is open to art and design professionals and students. “Many organizations support students, but I feel that MSA does a particularly good job,” said Associate Professor Deidre Argyle. “It’s a national organization that highly supports emerging artists.”

Argyle, who teaches sculpture at Missouri State, serves on the MSA board. She co-chaired this year’s Confab with Dr. Bryan Winfred Massey, Sr., of UCA and was instrumental in securing funding for registration and travel expenses. Her efforts allowed several Missouri State students to attend a conference for the first time.

Student work recognized at Confab

Four Missouri State students had their work selected for the Confab’s Student Pop-Up show. They were Jacob Chatfield, Lillian Fitzpatrick, Lilly Johnson and Melinda Montoya.

Chatfield’s soft sculpture “Overcome” won the “Creative Dreamer” award. “I was very surprised and very overjoyed,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to be a part of some aspect of MSA.”

In addition, the Confab selected third year MFA student Gideon Agyeman’s ceramic piece “Daakye,” for its themed exhibition, “Mining the Material.” Keynote speaker and installation artist Beili Liu served as juror.

“[M]y work considers how materials record histories of making and embody relationships between people, place and memory,” Agyeman wrote in his artist statement.

Alumni work placed in extended exhibition

Meanwhile, works by alumni Olga Shute and Camryn Gulledge were on view in the “MSA Select” exhibition Sept. 1-Oct. 3. This month-long exhibition was curated by Johannah Hutchison, Executive Director of the International Sculpture Center.

Shute and Gulledge are both 2026 visual studies program graduates.

Sparking creative practice

Sharing skills can open up possibilities in artists’ studio practice and beyond. During the Confab, sophomore 3D studies major Aramina Rosenlund saw how this could work for her.

Rosenlund attended the “From Fibers to Forms” workshop, taught by fiber artist Sally C. Garner. Attendees learned how to use handmade paper and paper pulp to make three-dimensional forms.

“It gave me a lot of ideas for more organic shapes, and how the drying process of certain mediums can be played around with to create forms,” Rosenlund said.

Johnson felt inspiration not only by having her work featured, but also by meeting professional artists like Liu. “I was so honored that artist Beili Liu was able to see my piece [and] that I was able to speak to her about it, even if for only a small moment,” she said.

A junior art education major, Johnson is exploring how to use sculpting with paper in her classroom.

“Papermaking is something that’s accessible for schools,” she said. “Being able to use it for sculpture work will give me many opportunities to incorporate it into future lessons when I teach.”

Building foundations

Finding community and connection is foundational at any stage of making a life as an artist—as a student, as a professional, or as a mentor. Gatherings like the MSA Confab only last a few days, but they are catalysts to exchange ideas and build long-lasting relationships.

“I learned so much in such a short amount of time,” Rosenlund said. “And I got to meet so many amazing and talented artists.”

Johnson echoed those feelings. “The best aspect was getting to know some of my classmates better and learn about their work and their goals for the future,” she noted.

Explore Mo State’s art program

Photo credits: Deidre Argyle.

News written by Violet Austerlitz and edited by the Reynolds College Communications Team. Austerlitz is a third-year student in the Visual Studies MFA program, focusing on sequential art and installation art.

Reynolds College blog posts are human researched, written and reviewed unless otherwise indicated.