The 2021 Student Juried Exhibition highlights artwork created by students in the WKU department of art and design.     

The exhibition is located on the 2nd floor in the main gallery of the Ivan Wilson Fine Arts Center. The doors are open from 8 am to 4:30 p.m. on Monday through Friday. The show will run until Nov. 10. 

The type of art featured includes paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, printmaking, graphic design, new media and animation. 

“In this exhibition, we were able to include some QR codes as a new way to display artwork that may not be able to be displayed otherwise,” Elizabeth Jones, the gallery manager, said.

Jones was responsible for putting the show together. She spent two days collecting student artwork. 

“I sorted through what was accepted and started to lay it all out, figured out where the art would hang or sit,” Jones said. “I started to hang the artwork, I finished hanging everything on Saturday night and did some finishing touches on Sunday such as putting up labels for the artwork and a description of the exhibition.”

Jones also received help with setting up from Alex Cox, an art student, and Charles Hurst, a worker at Kentucky Museum.

“For the student juried shows, we always bring in an outside person so that they have an unbiased opinion on student’s artwork,” Jones said.

Alisa Holen, associate professor at University of Southern Indiana, was the juror of the show.

“She first went through and decided yes or no and then after compiling all the ones that were a yes, she went through the awards list and assigned awards to the artworks,” Jones said. 

There were 247 submissions, but only 89 made it into the exhibition.

“I was impressed with the amount of work that seemed to push the boundaries of assignments and bring originality in both concept and execution,” Holen said.

This was Jones’ first time in charge of a juried student show and felt it was a learning experience.

“I am glad I was able to be a part of this exhibition, but it would not have been possible if it weren’t for the students participating and submitting all their hard work,” Jones said.

News reporter Henri Aboah can be reached at aronie.aboah179@topper. wku.edu.