The El Camino College Art Gallery, which hosts individual and group exhibitions throughout the semester, is currently home to a different genre of work, that of students first dipping their toes into the art world.
The most popular night of exhibition occurs during the reception, which doubles as an Art and Photography Department open house. This year, that night occurred on Friday, May 18.
“We are celebrating the El Camino Art Department and all the great work that students are putting out,” Zach Miller, 22, sculpture major, said.
By having a gallery space on campus, students are provided a professional venue with which to showcase their work.
“It’s an opportunity for students to get feedback on the work they’re currently producing and to get recognized for the work they’ve done,” Miller said. “It also helps showcase El Camino to other people, so they can see that this is an institution that’s really working towards the betterment of the arts.”
Within the gallery itself, art and photography professors hand-selected two pieces from their studio classes to be included in the show. On reception night, classrooms and studios are opened up to the public to showcase artwork that was not included in the gallery portion of the show.
“I think that it brings in the community and offers an opportunity for people to see how incredibly talented this student body is,” Susanna Meiers, director and curator of the Art Gallery, said. “It’s also a good way for people to become interested in the program, and for students to see their work up in a professional setting.”
The Art and Photography Departments offer a wide range of classes, some of which aren’t present at other community colleges and universities.
“You get to see the different types of specialties that (El Camino) offers that aren’t traditional at other campuses,” Madison Gillespie, 22, studio art major, said. “A lot of campuses don’t have a foundry. A lot of places don’t have jewelry either.”
What makes the Student Art Show distinct from other exhibitions on campus is the presence of a wide variety of mediums, as well as work from students with distinctly different backgrounds.
“I think it’s very important that this happens because there’s so much diversity here at El Camino,” Gillespie said. “It’s just a rarity to see all these different mediums put together on the same night, and it’s all within walking distance of each other.”
The Student Art Show has been an ongoing event ever since the creation of the Art Gallery in the early 1970s, Meiers said.
This year’s show debuted on Monday, May 14, and will be up until Thursday, May 31.
The Art Gallery is open on Monday and Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Wednesday and Thursday from 12 to 7:30 p.m.
