​Showcasing Student Art on Campus and in Local Community
Arts on Campus program provides professional venues for 51ÂÜÀòcommunity to exhibit and see creative work
BRISTOL, R.I. – In the Department of Visual Arts, faculty and staff understand that making great art is only part of a successful career as a professional artist. For students to succeed, they need to know how to share their craft effectively. This crucial skill is one of the main reasons behind a university-wide program called Arts on Campus.
Launched in 2012, Arts on Campus showcases the work of 51ÂÜÀòstudents, faculty and partner artists both on and off campus, and helps students build the skills they need to prepare and install exhibitions that enthrall and stimulate dialogue among people who see it.
"For many, it's one of the first real professional venues they can exhibit their work and get feedback," said Arts On Campus Coordinator Denny Moers.
Adam D'Arcangelo '18, a creative writing major and VARTS minor who has a number of photographs up as part of an exhibition, agrees.
"An experience like this one could lead to other exhibitions or related opportunities – where in an interview or anything of the sort, we can tell them that we have had our own exhibition at a prestigious university," D'Arcangelo said. "Before this experience, I never knew how to prepare or install any type of exhibition."
Along with this kind professional experience, the program displays the dynamic arts and design work created on campus, said Moers. "It's a way to engage the community in the arts."
To date, Arts on Campus has had over 20 art and design installation sites university-wide and in the local community.
Below are images of the semester's current exhibitions:
Titled "A Creative Couple," this exhibit in the College of Arts and Sciences gallery features over 30 photographs by Adam D'Arcangelo and Adrienne Wooster '19. The series of black and white imagery showcases their unique views and ideas of body and self.
The "Mask/Unmask" exhibit in the Administration Building comes from the mixed media class of Elizabeth Duffy, associate professor of art. Students were challenged to construct a mask that reveals important but unseen aspects of their personality. Seen here, is Hanna Terripen '20 in the mask she constructed.
A photograph by Jessica Valenti '16 is part of a large exhibition of images on display in the 51ÂÜÀòlibrary. It comes from last year's digital media and photography final semester exhibition.
On a recent Sunday night at the Byfield School in Bristol, the "Crashing Thoughts Different Minds" exhibition brought together four different courses for a single show across a broad array of mediums. Students from the VARTS courses in film, animation and video, digital tools and methods, and mixed media worked on the exhibition, along with students from an electronic music course.
On Thursday, December 14 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. is the end of semester exhibition. Work in painting, drawing, printmaking, mixed media and sculpture will be exhibited throughout the Fine Arts Building and in the GHH Atrium with a reception in the Fine Arts Building.
Students interested in submitting a project may propose site-specific installations of their work in both interior and exterior venues around campus. Faculty or staff interested in hosting work or exhibitions are required to submit a request as well.Contact Denny Moers, Art on Campus coordinator, with any questions at dmoers@rwu.edu.