"Swan" by Mona Al Saglab will be on display in the 45th Annual Student Art Show.
Celebrating its 45th year, the Student Art and Design Exhibition will once again populate the walls of TMCC galleries with the creations of our student-artists. The show will be on display April 10–May 1, offering students an opportunity to experience the professional—or, public—side of art while sharing their work with the TMCC community.
“The Student Arts & Design Exhibition is a great way for students to get an introduction to the world of showing their art professionally,” said TMCC Galleries Curator Aimee Kelly, who encourages all students—no matter where they are in their degree program or professional development—to participate in the show. “Cash prizes are awarded by TMCC, and Nevada Fine Arts gives out special recognition awards,” she said.
Yet, you don’t have to be an art student to enter the show (just a TMCC student)—but each piece of art you enter will cost a $5 entry fee—with a limit of six entries per person. Entry forms are available on studio art classroom doors and in RDMT 321 O. Participating artists should also be aware that their art must be dropped off and ready to hang in front of the main art gallery on the Dandini campus on Tuesday, March 26 or Wednesday, March 27 from 6–8 p.m.
Art is More Than Meets the Eye
Professionalism in art is something like an iceberg: there is the part you see (the painting or drawing facing outward toward the viewer) but then there’s the rest of it—the stuff it’s made of and how it is framed—which matters just as much as the art does.
While students like Greg Luippold—who plans to show his work in the show— said that his motivation to create art comes from a sense of personal satisfaction: “Art helps us to express who we are, to spread a message and to say that you are not alone,” he said. The show also embeds teachable moments for the practical concerns of practicing artists, such as how to frame your pieces so that they can be professionally hung, or how to “...make your artwork capable of surviving for years as much as possible,” said Art Instructor Rossitza Todorova.
In a recent workshop open to all TMCC art students, Todorova and Kelly demonstrated best practices that not only enhance the artwork itself, but that add value to the art in the sense that it will last—if not forever—at least a few years longer than expected. These details matter deeply for work that stands in for an artist’s expressive goal. “When I create art, it comes out like a metaphor—it’s something I see or feel that I translate into something visual for people to see,” said TMCC art student Ashley Frost, whose work will be displayed in the upcoming exhibition.
Reception and Awards Ceremony
The artist reception and awards ceremony for the Student Art Exhibition will be held on Wednesday, April 10 from 5–7 p.m. in the Red Mountain Student Center. In addition to honoring students awarded for their work, the reception will feature a special presentation by show juror, Mari Bein.
Bein, who is a professional artist who has taught students from preschool to the postgraduate level for over 30 years, will speak from her perspective of as a native Nevadan who is continuously inspired by the landscape. Bein received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Nevada, Reno and her Master of Liberal Studies with an emphasis on Painting and Humanities from the University of Oklahoma, Norman.
The reception is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
For more information, check for updates on the TMCC Galleries Facebook page, or contact TMCC Galleries Curator Aimee Kelly at 775-673-7233.