Alumnus Gary Chapman Receives Top Arts Honor from State of Alabama

Gary Chapman (MFA Painting 1986), acclaimed artist and professor emeritus of painting and drawing at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, has been announced as a 2026 recipient of the Alabama Arts Impact Award. Awarded by the Alabama State Council on the Arts, this award honors individuals who have made unique and meaningful contributions to arts and creativity in Alabama. It is the state’s highest arts honor.

Chapman has an extensive career marked by more than 90 solo exhibitions at institutions including the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, the Arts Center of St. Petersburg, Florida, the University of Cincinnati, and the Indianapolis Art Center. He has also participated in numerous group and invitational exhibitions with regional, national, and international venues. His paintings have been purchased for the collections of numerous museums across the Southeast, as well as for many corporate and private collections nationwide.

Chapman and six other recipients will be honored at the Celebration of Alabama Arts on May 14, 2026, at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery, AL.

Chapman served in the UAB Department of Art & Art History for more than 30 years, as professor of painting and as the department chair.

Local artist Gary Chapman wins Alabama Arts Impact Award – Cullman Tribune

Celebration of Alabama Arts – State of Alabama

Painting at Cranbrook Academy of Art