Art students will have their chance to show their work to the world at the Southeastern Contemporary Art Gallery. Before the opening of the exhibit there will be an opening reception for the show in the Contemporary Art Gallery in East Strawberry Stadium. The reception will take place on Thursday, March 8 from 5 to 7 p.m., and snacks and refreshments will be provided along with the chance to see the artwork of hardworking Southeastern art students.  

“The student show each semester has two things that we’re trying to do,” said Gallery Director Dale Newkirk. “One is give the students the chance to experience exhibiting their work in the gallery with their peers. Then it also, as a department, allows the faculty to assess kind of where we are, whether our teaching is being effective or not and what problem areas there might be.”

This exhibition gives students the important opportunity to show their work in a gallery, which can often be costly in other settings. They were able to submit up to four pieces of work, all without a fee. The only requirement was that the piece was created as part of a Southeastern art class within the last three semesters.

Not every piece entered to the show will be displayed. The show is juried and the chosen pieces will be decided by Greely Myatt and Michael Trahan. Myatt is a nationally known sculptor and a teacher at the University of Memphis in Tennessee. He will also be hosting a visiting artist lecture later in March. Trahan is a Southeastern alumni and works as a graphic designer for the Public Information Office.

Newkirk stated that being chosen gives students “a feeling of accomplishment that someone from the outside has picked your work to be in the show.”

The opportunity to show in a gallery is vital for young artists.

“It allows them to solve problems,” said Newkirk. “They’ve done this in class and then decide what they need to do to get the work ready to be exhibited. Some of the students are having trouble making that transition between ‘I made it in class but then how do I frame it, get it ready and how do I present the work in a professional manner, and that is another level of detail. After they do that, they get to see their work in an exhibition context, which is very different than just in your studio.