Gulf Coast State College’s Visual & Performing Arts Division opened a new event called “Dad Jokes – Lessons from My Father,” hosted by Tim Gagnon.
 
The air is being filled to the brim with cheesy humor sprinkled with a lovable fatherly charm that you can’t just ignore. This event recently opened on October 18th, and it is a wholesome, celebratory homage to all fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and mentors alike, sharing their funny jokes with today’s generation of young people to pass the torch to the next generation. A lot of parents had come to this event to support their child and their endeavors, take instructions from teachers for art, and so much more.
“Never trust a skinny chef!” Tim Gagnon, 2024

On the first day of the exhibit, Tim Gagnon came over and had this to say, “It’s a real honor to be here, because the college has brought in some spectacular art exhibits, so doing an art show here is a big deal. We love to humiliate and embarrass our children, that’s part of the job. So, that’s what this is about, it’s a celebration of dads. We’ve got lots of paintings here, but it’s really all about just dads, and the fatherly advice that was given to our lives to help us become better people and more successful in life. And one day, if you’re a guy in the room and you’re going to be a dad one day, hopefully you’ll continue the lineage of the dad jokes, because they are important.” 

“A little bit of mischief” Tim Gagnon, 2024

All the 22 art pieces presented in the exhibit are made by Tim himself. He is an award-winning local artist and speaker known for many projects he has made for nearly two decades, including making paintings with paintbrushes on fire live on stage. His latest project was published on November 7th of 2023, called the Illuminated Messiah Bible, which contains a collection of 66 portraits of Jesus the Messiah. Across the country, he’s been performing at a lot of churches, conferences, schools, and stadiums. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Theology from the Christian Life School of Theology back in 2008, and a Master’s in Fine Art (Painting) from the Academy of Art University back in May of 2015. His bio can be seen in his own website (illuminatedmessiah.com). Tim is even a founder of a non-profit, art advocacy ministry called the Gagnon Atelier, which was founded in 2019 to assist schools, churches and civic organizations with art-related community outreach programs, art exhibits being one of the examples. You can check out the official website with this link (gagnonatelier.com).

“Dad Jokes – Lessons from My Father” will continue to run until November 8th of this year, so there is still a chance to stop by the Amelia Center Gallery (AC 112) with your parents, especially your dad, and enjoy and appreciate all the humorous artwork Tim had done. The hours for the event are Monday – Thursday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., and Friday 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., and admission is free.

Tyler Martin

Student Writer - Fall 2024