VBHEC OPENS "WORLD THROUGH MY EYES" EXHIBIT WITH RECEPTION

On Friday, Oct. 26, the Virginia Beach Higher Education Center will host an opening reception for "The World Through My Eyes," an exhibition featuring the paintings of artist and ODU alumna, Irina Avilova. The reception, which is free and open to the public, will be held from 4:30-6:30 p.m. The exhibition continues through Dec. 1.

Avilova came to ODU in 1999 from her home in Moscow to pursue her higher education. She earned an M.B.A. in finance in 2001 and a master's degree in accounting in 2003. But Avilova's greatest passion was painting.

She has been painting and drawing since childhood. With no formal training, Avilova relied on her intuition to polish her craft. Her style is based upon her belief that art is "about people with different experiences and backgrounds" deriving their own emotional associations and interpretations while viewing her work.

Avilova won a People's Choice Award for her painting "Moscow at Night" at Art*De*Fined, an annual juried exhibition in the Washington, D.C., area.

She continues to show her work in regional, national and international exhibitions.