EXHIBITIONS
On View now
CCAN 10 Installation in Progress
·
CCAN 10 Installation in Progress ·
upcoming
On view October 10 - November 21, 2025
Submission Deadline: August 22, 11:59pm
The Center for Contemporary Arts National - known as CCAN - is a national juried art competition of the Center for Contemporary Arts in Downtown Abilene, Texas.
Over $7,000 is awarded annually to artists in 11 media categories, one juror’s award, and a best of show.
PAST EXHIBITIONS
Opening Reception: August 7, 5-7pm
Closing event: September 19, 6:15pm
Juried by Faith Archambeau
In collaboration with Texas Sculpture Group and Abilene Cultural Affairs
Constructed identity meets human / bodily experiences.
Something mechanical meets something deeply human.
Tension holds without resolution.
Reception: August 7, 2026, 5-7pm
al-ien-a-tion: the state or experience of being isolated from a group or an activity to which one should belong or in which one should be involved.
Designed by Jonah Eli Garcia
OPENING RECEPTION: 6.05, 5-7PMARTIST GREETING: 5:05PMART HAPPENING COMMENCES: 5:15PM
Kari Perkins is an artist exploring the expressive potential of hand dyed silk, recycled materials and found objects. Her visual artworks, which include fiber, mixed-media pieces and installations, often feature a blend of vibrant colors, rich textures and unexpected forms. Her art invites viewers to experience a world where the tactile and visual merge, revealing the unique beauty found in the intersection of nature, memory and artistic exploration.
Reception: April 24, 2026 | 6:00 - 8:00 pm
This collaborative photography series by a mother and son examines elevation as both landscape and lived experience. The work reframes the idea of a summit beyond geography - positioning it as a space of spiritual clarity, creative alignment, and generational connection.
Reception: April 17, 5-7pm
On view through November 15, 2025
The Center for Contemporary Arts National - known as CCAN - is a national juried art competition of the Center for Contemporary Arts in Downtown Abilene, Texas.
Over $7,000 is awarded annually to artists in 11 media categories, one juror’s award, and a best of show.
See the Heart, Capture the Future.
Heart Gallery of Northwest Texas, a program of 2Ingage, works in collaboration with Heart Galleries of Texas to display professional portraits of youth waiting for adoption. Through our collaborative efforts we have been able to raise community and statewide awareness about the need for foster and adoptive homes, post adoption support and the power of community collaboration.
The Heart Gallery of Northwest Texas advocates for youth in foster care who are having a harder time finding their forever homes. We do this by creating fun photoshoot experiences for the youth where we ensure to engage their interest and share their photos in the community.
Opening Reception: August 22, 5-7PM
Raised on West Texas ranches and large horse training operations, Anthony Huff's early life left him with a deep awareness of regional and American culture; its humor, contradictions, and darker undertones. After earning his BFA from Midwestern State University in 1981, Anthony moved out to New York City before eventually settling with his family in Potosi, TX.
His art, once described as a “40-watt world,” has only grown dimmer over the years. Through cartoonish figures and emblematic anthropomorphs, he critiques the world around him in a satirical lense.
Mary K. Huff is a feminist assemblage artist who crafts layered, unapologetically political works from found materials. After graduating in 1980, she moved with husband and fellow artist Anthony Huff to New York City, before eventually settling with her family in Potosi, TX.
Through compositions of familiar objects and symbolic items, she examines gender roles, reproductive rights, and other deeply emotional themes; often taking inspiration from female historical figures.
Drift into dreamworld… wake up changed.
“Are you Awake?” by Braeden Kuppin, Bryan Vause and Freddy Gonzales.
Reception: July 11, 2025, 5 - 7 PM
Three artists reflect on their west-Texas roots through different art styles.
Meet the artists: Linda Stricklin, La Gina Fairbetter and Tawnee Bland during the exhibition reception June 20, 5:30 - 7:30PM !
Get to know our talented studio residents through Under Construction: an exhibition providing a glimpse into the artistic process.
Opening: May 16, 5 - 7PM
The West Texas Photographic Society presents their annual membership exhibition. Featured in the exhibition are a survey of contemporary photography from hand printed film processes to fully digital and abstract.
The West Texas Photographic Society (WTPS) is a group of photographers ranging from hobbyists to professionals. They promote the enjoyment of photography and enhance the creative ability of the Abilene photographic community. Their annual member exhibition will feature photography from their current membership.
Opening Reception: May 16, 5-7PM
For our CCA Artist Member Spring 2025 themed exhibition, artists were asked to confront their own reckoning with change; internal and external, sudden or creeping, exhilarating or devastating. Through their art, they explore the weight of the present, the pull of the past, and the uncertainty of what comes next.
This exhibition showcases Makenzie Bierma-Wheeler's latest work, exploring heritage, craft, women's work, and memory. Through abstracted diary-like pieces, she engages with functional art and craft in contemporary discourse.
This exhibition showcases dynamic artist pairings, each presenting three works: one from each individual and a collaborative piece that merges their creative voices.
Through this collection, Tim Chandler invites viewers to take their time to reflect on their own relationship with the land and the beauty it holds. These images encourage a sense of connection to the natural world, prompting contemplation of both its past and its evolving future.
“Between Shadow and Light, is, to me, often the essence of visual art. It is the contrast between light and shadow that reveals form, which is, in many ways, the subject matter of a work of art.”
The This is Me Project features 18 incredible women, celebrating who they are in whatever stage of life they’re in. The project focuses on the beauty and strength of each woman and her story.
The Center for Contemporary Arts is proud to present the 15th Annual juried Intercollegiate Student Art Competition for area college and university students!
The competition is open to students of Abilene Christian University, Cisco College, Hardin-Simmons University, McMurry University, Texas State Technical College, Angelo State University, Howard Payne University, Midwestern State University, South Plains College, and Tarleton State University. Entries may be submitted in any medium as long as the finished piece meets the size and weight restrictions of the category.
Revisited with a new perspective, this body of work bridges past and present.
Join us for the reception on June 20, 5:30–7:30 PM, and experience the work of one of Abilene’s most enduring art educators, Katy Presswood.