It was the first time I planned a student art exhibition and I must say, I underestimated how much time and work involved in putting together a successful show. As President of the Student Art Association, I put my hand in every aspect of planning the event--one because I was president and two because I guess some may call me a perfectionist. To get the show running, I put out a call for student artwork. It surprised me how difficult it was to get submissions. At times, I even had to personally reach out to my student artist friends. After reviewing the submissions with the committee, we collected and framed the artwork. For the actual event, I had to go reserve the space and work with the campus dining services to plan the dessert reception. Then, I created a poster, printed copies and hung them up around campus. In addition, I sent out advertisements on the campus message board. When it actually came to hanging the show, the night before the opening reception, our small club and our advisor looked at each other… it was then we realized that none of us had actually hung a show. Not only that, but we didn’t have all the right pieces and the setting in which we were hanging the show was strict about leaving the walls as is, meaning no nails and hammering. Womp womp. In my mind, I was thinking, OMG, I told so many people about the show and did so much public outreach. The opening is tomorrow. This show has to go up. However, there was light at the end of the tunnel. We did eventually figure it out and I gained experience on how to curate the show.
The ARTstravaganza Exhibition was a great success. There was a larger turnout than I intended, thanks to all our supportive staff, faculty and friends. The role of this event is to connect the art community to the rest of campus, encourage students from all disciplines to explore their inner creativity, expose campus to the world of visual arts and to stimulate dialogue and an appreciation for the arts. Here are a few photos from the opening!
The poster I made by playing with Photoshop and Illustrator. I borrowed some pop art from Lichtenstein =).
The poster I made by playing with Photoshop and Illustrator. I borrowed some pop art from Lichtenstein =).
