ISU students are learning about cultural experiences beyond the classroom Gallery 181 in the College of Design is hosting Ukrainian artist Neonila Nedosyeko, who specializes in watercolor and tapestry.

The exhibit, “Paintings and Tapestries,” which is free of charge and open until Sept. 20, features 35 watercolors and four tapestries.

A lecture by Nedosyeko with a reception to follow will be held shortly after her arrival in the United States and is scheduled for Sept. 13 at 4 p.m.

The opportunity to host the work by a “Treasured Artist of Ukraine” is unique for the university, according to gallery director Marck Nystrom, because “in cultural exchanges, we don’t see a lot of artists from Ukraine,” he said.

Nedosyeko has taught in her native Cherkasy Children’s Art School since 1993 and has been teaching at a Cherkasy college since 1997.

While on her first visit to the United States, Nedosyeko will be speaking at the Octagon Center for the Arts, Brunnier Art Museum, and will also have an exhibit in Marshalltown.

Because she does not speak English, Nedosyeko will be accompanied by her companion and translator, Olha Rakhubovska.

“She has very unique, personal techniques she uses to blend her figures in with the landscape,” Nystrom said. “It gives her work a very mystical feeling.”

Nedosyeko’s visit and exhibits are being sponsored by the College of Design, Iowa Sister States, Iowa Arts Council, Target Stores, Ames Spinners and Weavers, and the Octagon Center for the Arts.

The Iowa Sister States have been collaborating on this project for a year, said volunteer Linda Hodges.

According to Hodges, a teacher working for Iowa Sister States in Ukraine came across Nedosyeko’s artwork and began speaking with volunteers in Iowa to arrange for her visit.

Nedosyeko’s visit is important to Iowa Sister States because it embodies their mission to “make contact with citizens of other states culturally, educationally and economically,” Hodges said.