From March 1 to April 5, The Jessie C. Wilson Gallery will host the annual Juried Student Exhibition. The opening reception and award ceremony will take place on Friday, March 1, from 6-8 p.m.
This year’s juror is Fred Bower who will give an artist talk during the opening at 7 p.m. Bower’s work will be exhibited along with selected works from visual communications students.
Bower received his MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BFA from the Herron School of Art. He has been a design educator for nearly 20 years. His work has been published in several design publications as well as periodicals such as Émigré, Print and Plazm Magazine.
Recently, he received an award for excellence from the University College Designers Association for his design of the David Owsley Museum of Art Exhibition Program media kit and Glick Center for Glass Artist Residency media kit.
Bower is currently an Assistant Professor of Art at Ball State University. He was recommended as this year’s juror by visual communications professor Jason Higgs.
“It is beneficial to see how students get from point A to point B in the process of their design education and to see the different work they do for various classes,” said Tai Lipan, director of the Wilson Gallery.
Being on a juried exhibit allows students the opportunity to place their work in the public eye.
“The jurors talk about their perspectives on the show and why they chose what they chose,” said Lipan. “It’s an opportunity for students to put themselves out there and practice making connections.”
Lipan says that Jurors often leave constructive criticism on students’ works that can be beneficial to their learning experiences.
“We encourage the students to submit up to five things in a show,” said Lipan. “Each juror has their own distinctive perspectives on how to do that. I rotate bringing in someone in education and someone in the industry so that the perspectives are varied.
“Sometimes jurors leave notes on what our students can work on. We encourage the students to talk to the jurors. Sometimes they can get internships or jobs through the juror process.”
Besides senior shows, the juried shows are the only opportunities to display what students are doing in their courses.
“There will be awards for introductory level courses,” said Lipan. “These students are learning the foundational skills of design and we offer this award specifically for them because we want to place value on the role of foundations in their education.”
The other awards include best of show, best of each category and several honorable mentions.
Sarah Rozzi, a junior double majoring in visual communications and business informations systems reflects on her experiences in juried shows.
“The juried show is one of my favorite times of the school year because it’s nice to see the artistic community at AU come together to see each other’s design and celebrate the results of all the hard work and far too many sleepless nights,” she said.
Part of what Rozzi enjoys about juries shows is the uncertainty that comes along with different jurors.
“The fun thing about the juried shows is that we invite a different local designer or artist each year, so you’re never quite sure if you’re going to get in,” said Rozzi.
Rozzi has had three out of her six submissions accepted into juried shows over the last two years. The mediums have included illustration, digital design and print production.
“My freshman year, I received an honorable mention for a drawing of the library that I did in a cross-hatching style,” she said. “My sophomore year I designed and illustrated a deck of trading cards that brought awareness for endangered frogs and toads on the International Union For Conservation’s Red List.
“For this project I received an award for Best Use of Design Systems.”
For the upcoming show, Rozzi has submitted five pieces including works that display her experience in print design, packaging design and app design.
“The show is an incredible opportunity to celebrate our hard work, but also to get our work in front of designers from the Anderson and Indianapolis areas and to market ourselves,” she said. “I just hope that in the coming years students will continue to value the show and keep submitting work.”
Juried shows provide Visual Communications students with the unique opportunity to receive outside feedback and criticism of the work they do throughout their undergraduate experience.
All levels within the major will be represented, and anyone who is enrolled in a design class is presented with the opportunity to submit their work.