Art exhibition features seniors’ culminating projects
Eight graduating studio artists will present their artwork on Tuesday, May 10 at 10:30 a.m. in the Augustana Art Museum in the lobby of Centennial Hall (3703 7th Ave.) The free and public 50-minute program will include a “walking tour” of the exhibition, conversation with the artists and a reception.
All studio art majors complete a final senior project that is displayed in the Augustana Art Museum. This year, the students’ work will be on display from May 7-16 and May 20-21. The museum is free and open to the public from noon-4 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays.
Sherry Maurer, director of the Augustana Art Museum, says that the senior project is designed to challenge and encourage student artists. “The capstone project allows students to demonstrate the skills they’ve developed at Augustana, but also to reflect on the value of their work to the common good,” she said. “This process also increases awareness of professional exhibition practices.”
Audrey Waner, a senior from Davenport, Iowa, agrees with Maurer. “The Senior Studio Art Exhibition could not be a better culmination of my time as an artist at Augustana. I’ve learned what goes into a professional body of work and its exhibition, and I am more dedicated to my own work than ever.”
Since students are allowed to choose their creative projects, they explore diverse mediums and themes. The exhibition features everything from ceramic masks about emotion to paintings about depression to chalk art about the influences of Facebook.
Anny Hasse, a senior from Barrington, Ill. with a double major in business administration and studio art, is proud of how she has grown as an artist over the past four years. “I am no longer afraid to take risks,” she said. “My exhibition features unconventional materials such as broken sunglasses and multiple connected canvases in a single piece. I have challenged myself not to settle with something average.”
About Augustana: Founded in 1860 and situated on a 115-acre campus near the Mississippi River, Augustana College is a private, liberal arts institution affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The college enrolls 2,500 students from diverse geographic, social, ethnic and religious backgrounds and offers more than 70 majors and related areas of study. Augustana employs 287 faculty members and has a student-faculty ratio of 11:1. Augustana continues to do what it has always done: challenge and prepare students for lives of leadership and service in our complex, ever-changing world.