The University of Mary Washington Galleries is pleased to present Take a Painting, on view in the duPont Gallery from September 4 through October 10, 2025.

Launched by artist Erika Stearly in 2013, Take a Painting is an interactive painting installation that invites viewers to select a small painting on paper to keep, and provides the space and materials for them to make a painting, which can be embedded back into the installation for future visitors to take. Stearly’s role is to create and sustain the conditions in which individuals can collaborate with each other to develop works of art that are meaningful to their community. Her participatory projects emphasize both the process and the product, blurring the line between audience, participant, artist, and individual, and offer multiple ways to engage with the work.

An artist’s talk with Erika Stearly will take place on Thursday, September 11 at 5pm in duPont Gallery.