ALTOONA, Pa. — “Before I Wake,” a body of work by visual art studies student Maggie Parks, will be on display from April 24 through May 3 in the Sheetz Gallery of the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts. A reception will be held at 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 24, in the Titelman Study of the center. The reception and exhibition are free and open to the public.
Parks is a visual artist who works primarily in oil, acrylic and ceramics. Their work is often rich in color, focusing on the natural environment and the human mind through a mixture of conceptual and abstract ideas. Parks uses art as a way to explore the natural world and the world we create in our pursuit to understand the unknown.
“I’m fascinated by universal feelings, how we all look to the stars with awe, peer into the ocean and wonder what’s beneath the waves, or see the same monsters in our nightmares,” Parks said.
Parks intends to graduate from Penn State in December 2025. During their time at Altoona, they have participated in numerous student group exhibitions and other campus activities. They were awarded the Fine Art Award in 2024.
The Galleries are open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For further information, call the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts at 814-949-5452.