As the director of galleries, exhibitions and collections at Bradley University, Erin Zellefrow oversees Bradley’s extensive collection of art and works with staff on its placement around campus. She is also assistant director of the Inland Visual Studies Center, a consortium of art programs with the mission to theorize a more authentic, complex cultural identity of Middle America.
Zellefrow develops new artistic initiatives for the university, coordinates exhibits, and teaches as an affiliate instructor. A frequent guest critic for graduate classes, she coordinates portfolio classes, directs the BFA seminar for graduating seniors, helps to develop the Visual Voices lecture series, and has coordinated the Bradley International Print and Drawing Exhibition.
Zellefrow’s career at Bradley has been marked by exceptional service in both academia and the community. Having only been in Peoria since 2010, her time as an artist-in-residence and program director at Prairie Center of the Arts helped position her for continued success. An accomplished artist herself, she is a board member and treasurer of Backspace Collective, which features exhibits by new and innovative artists. She has been an instructor in the After School Art Club sponsored by the Contemporary Art Center, juror for the Quest Charter Academy Student Art Exhibit and jury coordinator for the Interior Design Educators Council’s 2012 Creative Scholarship. With her skillful eye for upcoming artists and talent for hanging exhibits, she is also a frequent juror for national art shows.
Zellefrow has received several prestigious awards for her art service, including the School of Art Graduate Scholarship at Rochester Institute of Technology and the Prairie Center of the Arts Residency Award. She was also nominated for Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture by the International Sculpture Center. Through all her efforts, she hopes to reach a broad audience to share with them a visual language, and positively influence the central Illinois community and culture. iBi
