The Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition is now showcasing student art through the end of March in Concordia’s Cyrus M. Running Gallery.
The showcase allows students to display their works made throughout the year, and it gives them valuable experience as working artists, said Susan Lee, director of the gallery. Travis Klath, senior graphic design major, has three of his works displayed in this exhibit, and he encouraged people to come check out the show. He said that there are a lot of talented students on campus, some perhaps unknown to others, and this is a great way to see what others around you can do.
The Student Exhibition Show is a longstanding Concordia tradition designed to showcase all the talented students on campus. Students who submit their works are often required to do so at least once as an art major in their college career.
This year, however, was a little different for the show.
“Previously, only artworks produced in the context of an art class taught at Concordia were eligible for submission,” Lee said. “We opened up the submission rules and any artwork produced by any Concordia student that was produced from January 2012 to present time was eligible.” Lee hopes that this will encourage all students to submit their works in the future.
“Being an artist means sharing your creations with the public, engaging in a conversation of sorts with members of your community, society, and culture.” Lee said. “As students, this is difficult to do, but the juried student art exhibition offers a forum for not only art majors and minors but the entire campus community to publicly share their art.”
For the jury process, students were to submit their works with the piece’s name, the materials used, and if it was for sale or not. The works were then examined by the Executive Director of the Rourke Art Gallery Museum, Tania Blanich. Throughout the selection, Blanich also chose one “First Prize,” given to senior Katie Weikle; one “Best in Show,” given out to junior Ashley Johnson, and three “Honorary Awards,” given to Turi Anderson, Joshua Kilde and Rachel Meier.
“I actually had no idea I had placed at all,” said Ashley Johnson, junior art and psychology major with a concentration in studio art. “I was heading into the sculpture studio to work on my (National Conference on Undergraduate Research) project when Heidi Goldberg and Duane Mickelson congratulated me. I asked them what they were talking about and they sent me up to the gallery to look around, and there, by my “Scissor Spider,” was a cream colored card with “Best in Show” and a gold starburst sticker next to it. It was a pretty amazing feeling. I don’t think I was able to stop smiling all day.”
Freshman art education major Kate Hammero also had a great experience with the Art Show.
“It was exciting,” she said. I entered not thinking I would make it because I am only a freshman, but it was just exciting to see that I could actually get my things in the show. It just makes me feel good for the years to come.”
Klath thinks the exhibition is a great opportunity to showcase the work that students have been working so diligently on all year. Most of the time, even other art students do not get to see their fellow classmates’ works because they are hidden away in some other art classroom. The show is both good for other students’ to see the works and for community members to come see the works, Klath said.
Johnson was grateful for the opportunity of the show also.
“I feel truly humbled,” she said. Thank you, everyone. I hope I can make Concordia proud as I move forward in my career in the years to come.”
The Cyrus M. Running Gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays.
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