The Averitt Center for the Arts gives Georgia Southern University students and the Statesboro community the chance to take a trip back to the ‘20s in the new visual art exhibition Feathers, Flappers and Follies.

“We have (been) planning this exhibition for three years in advance,” said Melinda Roell, development director at the Averitt.

The Averitt’s visual art committee researched and visited different artists to make the decision on displaying their work.

“This year we had the Feather, Flappers and Follies event as a fundraiser and it was great opening for the actual exhibition,” Roel said.

This exhibition features the paintings of Jeff Williams, an Atlanta-based artist who has painted professionally for more than 20 years.  In this exhibition, his work shows the fashion and lifestyle of the glamorous 1920s.

“I am inspired by the human figure. What inspired me to make the exhibition were my five sisters. We used to watch old black and white movies. I really enjoyed watching those movies and imagined growing up during that time — so that is what I painted. I was not able to live in that era, but I am able to paint it,” Williams said.

The Averitt Center is especially excited about this exhibition for the entire Statesboro area and especially GSU students.

“Students should expose themselves to art. It is good to learn something new,” Roel said. “Feathers, Flappers and Follies is something good to see because it is very exciting and historic. Cultural events make you see things differently. People should take the time to experience culture because they never know what they are going to get out of it. Art is enriching, enlightening and will expand your horizons.”

Jeff Williams’ Feathers, Flappers and Follies closes March 2. The Exhibition is open to the public on Tuesdays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. -7 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.