The Sacramento State Witt Gallery hosted collaborative works with students, staff, faculty and community members at the closing reception of sculpture, painting and poetry.

The gallery was hosted in honor of the late Don Herberholz, former artist and Sac State professor of art. Following his death in 2006, the Valley Sculpture Artists organization established a process of taking nominations from members of the organization to select recipients of subsequent annual awards in the art community.

“Arts Allied: Creative Collaboration” featured over ten pieces of art from numerous artists. Sue Foster, the curator for the exhibit, said the gallery is one of the only galleries that remains a collaboration of students, faculty, and community members.

“I think it is great to have this gallery that provides a constant for students,” Foster said. “This show is a wide range of professionals to beginners, and this is a great venue to bring people on to campus.”

Ernylla England, an 80-year-old exhibiting artist and teacher featured in the gallery, presented her piece that included some historical value. One painting was of the famous William Shakespeare, while the other was a man name Edward DeVere, the 17th Earl of Oxford who lived around the same time as Shakespeare.

According to England, DeVere was the true poet/playwright of the Shakespeare plays, and Shakespeare himself was nothing more than an illiterate, petty merchant who was paid to keep quiet.

“Many of DeVere’s peers were poets, noblemen, and the Queen,” England said. “They also knew his true identity as the real Shakespeare, but could not give him away.”

Kern Houghton and Liz Atticus were collaborators on two pieces featured in the gallery from the Center for Creation Ceramics.

“It feels nice to get out of the woods and be able to see people looking at our work,” Houghton said. “Sue (Foster) has made this event very important to the local community.”

Foster said that the Witt gallery is one of the only galleries where the community is involved. It has been sponsored by Valley Sculptural Artists club, which allowed the collaborations to be featured.

“These are some tremendous pieces in that room,” Foster said. “And this is the first time the Valley Sculpture Artists has merged with other sculptors to create this excellent event.”

Ricky Alejandro can be reached at [email protected].