The Visual Art Department opened the Student Works Show in the Art West Building celebrating creativity and passion. 48 students presented multiple art pieces in different mediums and entered a competition to win different prizes in their categories. The student-led art club hosted the opening reception on Feb. 16 and the works will be shown until March 15.
Around 100 people showed up for the opening of the gallery as parents and other guests had the opportunity to see the talent of students from the John Brown University Department of Visual Arts. The show featured a contest with prizes for fine art, film, 3D, illustration, graphic design, printmaking and photography. Additionally, a winner will be chosen for best of show and every winner will receive recognition during the Arties ceremony in March. With a lot of JBU students submitting various works, the gallery was a success and received a lot of good reviews.
Aidan Stinson, a senior graphic design major student, shared his feelings about the show as he was one of the students that participated in the gallery.
“It always gives me a gratifying feeling to have my work on display. The chance to show something you’re proud of or something you’ve experimented with is always welcome. I see it to get more feedback on how I can improve. And of course, there’s the simple feeling of excitement when seeing something of mine up on a wall,” Stinson said.
After being asked about his opinions on these events, Stinson expressed his support.
“Giving students and young artists a platform to proclaim their stories and messages loudly through artwork is such a blessing. The galleries can give people an audience that they maybe wouldn’t have been able to reach prior. And with this show, there is the opportunity to sell your art, and as a college student I greatly support that,” Stinson said.
Furthermore, Stinson expressed that it can be hard sometimes to receive compliments, but shared about how inspiring they can be.
“They are necessary to keep that imposter syndrome tendency at bay. I received compliments for a piece that I didn’t think was going to stand out, and it’s going to be bought at the end of the show! Those comments have given me feedback that has directed me to create more of a certain kind of art. That’s another quality of these events, it provides direction in ways you weren’t expecting,” Stinson said.
Stinson emphasized his love for galleries and student work shows, highlighting their importance for students to learn.
“I hope new artists feel called to help put on this show in the future. It’s a great learning experience on how art should be handled, organized, and displayed,” Stinson said.
Bobby Martin, Professor of visual arts and the art gallery director also shared his opinion on the great job the students did to put the whole show up.
“There’s a lot more freshmen and sophomores. From my perspective as an art faculty, it was a big deal that there were a lot of early college years entry, they didn’t feel as intimidated or nervous about senior participants,” Martin said.
Martin said that people complimented the quality level of the works, and the opening was very successful.
“I think it’s great, a lot of good works, we had a lot of comments saying one of the best students shows we have had in quite a while,” Martin said.
Photo courtesy of Alexandra Castillo