On April 7, Seton Gallery will be hosting “Night of the Arts” to present student’s artwork and showcase the ability and creativity in various departments around campus. The Art & Design, English, Music, and Theater departments will be showcased along with individual pieces by students from the other departments.
The event will begin at 4 p.m. and end at 7 p.m.; food will be served while guests socialize and view student’s artwork. Throughout this time, Purebred Record Label will be playing music and the American Society of Interior Designers will be actively making models and engaging the audience in their creative process.
The event will continue into Bucknall Theater, as Jordon Daguplo’s acoustic group begins to play, followed by African drumming, as people proceed into the theater. Once the program moves into the theater, the Directing Class will perform a short scene and there will be a Musical Theatre Dance Performance on stage. This will shortly be followed by the award ceremony, beginning around 6 p.m. There will be individual awards presented for Art, Graphic Design, and Music. The night will come to a close with a Poetry Corner in the theater lobby. The night will showcase a wide variety of creative talent on campus.
Aside from showcasing student talent, the event will also strive to highlight the uniqueness of each individual’s creative process.
“I believe in process; often you see work up on a wall and wonder how they made it,” Laura Marsh, director of Seton Gallery, said.
Every artist goes through a process unique to themselves and to their piece; it is important to see those processes in order to fully appreciate the artwork. “Night of the Arts” showcases various artistic outlets, as well as various artistic processes through interactive, engaging activities and presentations acknowledging the artistic process alongside the finished project.
“A student exhibition is important because it gives the entire school an opportunity to express its creativity, be it through an art class or of one’s own choosing,” said Fine Arts student Karina Urriola.
This event is the coalition of all of the hard work students have put into their class or individual projects throughout the year. Urriola is using this event to showcase a piece from her Senior Exhibition as a preview to the collection that will be displayed in the Senior Showcase. “I use watercolor to tell stories about topics that are either too tough to talk about or not talked about enough,” she said.
Maria Zyla, a History major and intern at Seton Gallery, is also showcasing her artwork in the exhibit. Zyla and Urriola share a wall in the exhibit that is dedicated to women of the world. The “Wall of Women” honors women of all races, ethnicities, ages, body type, and sexual orientation.
“As a History major, I believe women have always been, and still are, greatly misrepresented in history. Women should be recognized and honored for their achievements and hard work every day, not just Women’s History Month,” said Zyla.
Many students follow their lead, submitting pieces as previews to future work, as it is the first student showcase of the year.
“Night of the Arts” provides a fantastic opportunity for students of all departments to be able to show their creative skills and have their work displayed on campus.
Bandar AlMarshad is a Graphic Design international student from Saudi Arabia and, as an intern at Seton Gallery, is very involved with the upcoming show.
“As an artist from Saudi Arabia, the student exhibition is a really good opportunity for me to show my work with a variety of other student’s work,” he said. “I was able to exhibit some different styles of painting and scratch board art, a process of exposing color by etching into the top black layer of scratchboards. I’m gaining experience and knowledge for opening my own art gallery; when I go back to Saudi Arabia, I’ll be one of the first Saudi males to open a space in a female dominated field.”
Come out to Seton Gallery on April 7 to support your fellow students and get a look at the creative minds we have here on campus! If you miss the event, you can stop by Seton Gallery until April 23 to see the artwork.
