The Walsh Gallery will be unveiling its eighth annual exhibition of student artwork on April 25. This year, the exhibition is titled "Collectively Assembled," alluding to the diverse collection of art created by students in the Department of Communications and the Arts.
This year's exhibition will feature more photography and film pieces, which Jeanne Brasile, director of the Walsh Gallery, said she is happy about.
"I don't like the arbitrary divides between the different art disciplines, since they're all working towards the same goal," Brasile said.
That goal is to create a high quality of art, and as "Collectively Assembled" demonstrates, that is exactly what numerous Seton Hall students have achieved. Normally, the Walsh Gallery displays artwork produced by professional artists. However, simply because "Collectively Assembled" is composed exclusively of student art does not mean that it is of a lesser quality than previous exhibitions at Walsh Gallery, as Brasile asserted.
"A lot of the work is very accomplished and no less impressive because it's student work," she said.
The student exhibitions at the Walsh Gallery have provided Seton Hall student artists with fantastic exposure throughout the years. Not only does it offer them the opportunity to see their work displayed in a professional manner, but student exhibitions have also attracted the attention of the general public outside of the Seton Hall community. In the past, students have actually sold some of their artwork because of the show, Brasile explained.
"Collectively Assembled" offers the Seton Hall community the opportunity to see art that was created not by outside artists, but by their classmates and friends.
Lauren Schiller, assistant professor of art, explained that attending "Collectively Assembled" provides all Seton Hall students with an opportunity to broaden their horizons and break away momentarily from their individual tracks of academic study.
"I would say that very often students become so focused on what's going on in their classes that they overlook all the wonderful events happening on campus," Schiller said. "And this particular event gives students the chance to see what their peers are actually working on so diligently in the classroom."
One might assume that the artwork featured in "Collectively Assembled" was all created by art majors, but Schiller explained that the student artists featured in the exhibit include a wide range of majors, as some of the students featured in the exhibit are taking art as an elective. Schiller said she feels this proves the value of art in a liberal arts education.
The opening reception for "Collectively Assembled" will be held on Wednesday, April 25 from 6-8 p.m., and all are invited. The exhibition will run through May 4, and will be open for viewing during the Walsh Gallery's normal hours which are Monday-Friday 10:30-4:30.
Emily Lake can be reached at emily.lake@student.shu.edu.
