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Seniors gain experience from Art Exhibition gain experience from art exhibit
On Nov. 30, the BFA Graduating Seniors Art Exhibition will open at the River Campus Art Gallery.
The exhibit serves as a capstone to the artistic body of work that each of the eight graduating seniors has created during their time at Southeast. Although the display offers the public a chance to enjoy the creations of the talented group of graduates, for the students, the show is a culmination of the hard work they have put into developing themselves as artists.
According to Emily Booth, Southeast art professor and director of the River Campus Art Gallery, the show provides the graduating seniors with a transitional steppingstone from student life to professional work.
“The BFA Exhibition helps lead (the students) to whatever is next in their professional endeavor, whether they go onto a master's degree or they go out into the work force, or the gallery scene, (the exhibit) is really their big grand finale,” Booth said.
In addition to being a “grand finale,” Nicki Stearns, one of the artists whose work is featured in the exhibition, says the student showcase provides an added boost of confidence that will help her go out into the working world and pursue a career in her chosen field.
“It really helps me see what I am capable of as a designer,” Stearns said. “I know I can develop a good concept and follow it through. It also gives me a very solid, finished piece to add to my portfolio.”
The process of bringing ideas from imagination to fruition is a balancing act for the artists and is one of the main functions of the BFA Graduating Seniors Art Exhibition.
“There is a lot of stress on the idea conception,” Booth said. “The student comes up with an idea and then says ‘how can I follow this, how can I think about formal visual elements, how can I have this reach fruition in a creative way but still be marketable.’”
For featured senior artist, Loren Boyd, the process of materializing her artistic vision into an exhibition piece proved challenging.
“My creative process was a struggle the whole way through,” Boyd said. “It’s hard enough to design something that you and the entire faculty can both aesthetically agree on, but you also have to design for your audience and the gallery attendees.”
In many ways, the BFA Graduating Seniors Art Exhibition is the students’ first experience with the commercial aspect of being a working artist in the modern world, and gives the seniors the invaluable opportunity to learn not only how to market themselves, but how to present their work in a gallery setting. Learning how to install their work into a gallery space and working a public reception are two crucial aspects that Booth made a point to include in the seniors’ exhibition project, and thanks to Southeast’s River Campus, Southeast fine arts majors are able to experience these crucial aspects firsthand.
“I think all faculty encourage students to have some smarter business practices, regardless of what your studio practice is, if you’re totally fine arts and you’re not interested in being corporate at all, that’s fine, but you still want to be able to market yourself,” Booth said.
Above all else, the BFA Graduating Seniors Art Exhibition is a celebration of a new crop of young artists waiting to be unleashed into the world, and as Booth explains, the possibilities are endless.
“The world is open to you,” Booth said, “who knows what’s going to happen.”
The BFA Graduating Seniors Art Exhibition runs from Nov. 30 to Dec. 19 at the River Campus Art Gallery. The exhibit will host a public reception as part of the First Friday Night Out with the Arts event on Dec. 4 from 5-7 p.m. Admission is free and all events are open to the public.
The exhibit serves as a capstone to the artistic body of work that each of the eight graduating seniors has created during their time at Southeast. Although the display offers the public a chance to enjoy the creations of the talented group of graduates, for the students, the show is a culmination of the hard work they have put into developing themselves as artists.
According to Emily Booth, Southeast art professor and director of the River Campus Art Gallery, the show provides the graduating seniors with a transitional steppingstone from student life to professional work.
“The BFA Exhibition helps lead (the students) to whatever is next in their professional endeavor, whether they go onto a master's degree or they go out into the work force, or the gallery scene, (the exhibit) is really their big grand finale,” Booth said.
In addition to being a “grand finale,” Nicki Stearns, one of the artists whose work is featured in the exhibition, says the student showcase provides an added boost of confidence that will help her go out into the working world and pursue a career in her chosen field.
“It really helps me see what I am capable of as a designer,” Stearns said. “I know I can develop a good concept and follow it through. It also gives me a very solid, finished piece to add to my portfolio.”
The process of bringing ideas from imagination to fruition is a balancing act for the artists and is one of the main functions of the BFA Graduating Seniors Art Exhibition.
“There is a lot of stress on the idea conception,” Booth said. “The student comes up with an idea and then says ‘how can I follow this, how can I think about formal visual elements, how can I have this reach fruition in a creative way but still be marketable.’”
For featured senior artist, Loren Boyd, the process of materializing her artistic vision into an exhibition piece proved challenging.
“My creative process was a struggle the whole way through,” Boyd said. “It’s hard enough to design something that you and the entire faculty can both aesthetically agree on, but you also have to design for your audience and the gallery attendees.”
In many ways, the BFA Graduating Seniors Art Exhibition is the students’ first experience with the commercial aspect of being a working artist in the modern world, and gives the seniors the invaluable opportunity to learn not only how to market themselves, but how to present their work in a gallery setting. Learning how to install their work into a gallery space and working a public reception are two crucial aspects that Booth made a point to include in the seniors’ exhibition project, and thanks to Southeast’s River Campus, Southeast fine arts majors are able to experience these crucial aspects firsthand.
“I think all faculty encourage students to have some smarter business practices, regardless of what your studio practice is, if you’re totally fine arts and you’re not interested in being corporate at all, that’s fine, but you still want to be able to market yourself,” Booth said.
Above all else, the BFA Graduating Seniors Art Exhibition is a celebration of a new crop of young artists waiting to be unleashed into the world, and as Booth explains, the possibilities are endless.
“The world is open to you,” Booth said, “who knows what’s going to happen.”
The BFA Graduating Seniors Art Exhibition runs from Nov. 30 to Dec. 19 at the River Campus Art Gallery. The exhibit will host a public reception as part of the First Friday Night Out with the Arts event on Dec. 4 from 5-7 p.m. Admission is free and all events are open to the public.
