Since the university announced the reopening of offices, other sites on campus have also made plans to resume regular activities, including the Contemporary Art Gallery. 

Cristina Molina, the gallery’s director, discussed the current plans that the gallery has followed since reopening to the public. 

“The gallery opened on June 30 with limited hours that are Monday through Thursday from 12 to 4 p.m.,” said Molina. “We are taking many safety precautions that are required being inside the gallery. We are also asking people to stay six feet from one another and that if people are feeling unwell, to just please stay at home.” 

Molina shared that the gallery will be continuing its annual Juried Student Exhibition since it was canceled upon campus closure.

“For the annual Juried Student Exhibition, we typically ask a member of the art community regionally, usually professional artists or a professional curator or professional art scholar, and we invite them to come to Southeastern’s Design Department,” shared Molina. “Students can submit work for consideration that they have made during their time at Southeastern. The juror that we invite will collect the artwork from the pile of submissions.” 

The gallery provides an opportunity for students to be featured and recognized on campus. 

“It’s a very prestigious thing for students to have kind of like a portfolio review, as their work is being reviewed by a professional in the art field and to have their work exhibited,” explained Molina. 

Other social distancing measures are being taken into consideration for safety precautions.

“The gallery’s capacity might be about 150, but during this time, we don’t really want more than 40 people in the gallery at one time,” described Molina. “It’ll probably be around that so we can ensure social distancing measures.” 

Mia Osborne-Cambias, a sophomore art major, shared how she felt about the reopening of the gallery. 

“I think the reopening is great,” said Osborne-Cambias. “It’ll be a great chance to see all of the art again and help other artists put out their works.” 

With COVID-19 still prevalent, Osborne-Cambias shared how she thinks this will affect the gallery. 

“Honestly I think it’ll be fine if we all take precautions,” mentioned Osborne-Cambias. “It would be nice to have it open again and have things getting back to normal.” 

To keep up with the Contemporary Art Gallery or for more information, follow its Instagram @slu_contemporary.