For the eleventh year in a row, SNHU’s McInich Art Gallery has the best student art on display for the Annual Graphic Design Exhibition. The opening reception of the exhibit took place on Thursday, April 6 from 5-7 p.m. and was catered with hors d’oeuvres and beverages.
Graphic design professor Harry Umen was among the staff that decided which works of art got chosen for the exhibition. “We can’t hold all of the best work since the gallery is very limited in space. It’s hard sometimes to select because there’s so much good work; we could probably fill two galleries with a lot of the work we have,” said Umen.
Umen continued, “This year, we’re featuring a couple of projects that were developed by photography and design students for the TEDx event that’s held every October. This time, digital murals that were group conceived and developed were displayed at the Stockbridge Theatre during the TEDx event.”
The gallery features art created by students from the game design and graphic design departments alike. However, majoring in either of those fields was not a requirement to grant entry to host art in the exhibit.
Senior Alexander Bergeron said, “It’s kind of nice being an Accounting Finance major and taking an elective [like photography] where I’m getting actual experience displaying my art…I’ve never done photography until I took the class. It’s nice feeling like an artist.”
For many students, this was the first time seeing their art on public display. However, some students have had the opportunity to showcase their work over more of their years at SNHU. Among them is senior James Cowin who said, “This is my second time being in the exhibit and it’s always good to be able to go to an art space and physically show people what you’ve been working on…it’s always an amazing experience.”
This exhibition is the only time that SNHU’s McInich Art Gallery has student work on display rather than an artist outside the SNHU community. “It’s always nice to, at the end of the year, kind of take a step back from the usual exhibits and have the students showcase their work,” said Cowin.
Senior Austin Arnold showcased two photography pieces at the exhibit and said, “I just think this exhibition is a really good opportunity for students to showcase their work. I think a lot of the times [student art] is just displayed on bulletin boards and things like that, but it’s nice to be put on a formal display.”
Art forms ranging from typography, to photography, to game illustration and more will be on display at the gallery through May 6.
