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UNSETTLED 2020 Studio Art Senior Capstone Exhibition Washington College Chestertown, MD |
Each year the Art and Art History Department and Kohl Gallery at Washington College work together to offer Studio Art majors the professional opportunity to develop a body of work that is presented in a group exhibition in Kohl Gallery. This Senior Capstone Experience (SCE) includes critiques with professional visiting artists, a studio space where students can further their research and practice, one-on-one mentorship with Studio Art Faculty, and the Kohl Gallery Director/Curator who guides them through the exhibition process.
Of course, this year has not been business as usual. This process was interrupted mid-stream as students had to abruptly wrap up their campus lives in an overnight transformation of their education due to COVID-19. As college administration, faculty, and staff reworked and revised plans to accommodate a shaky new normal dominated by social distancing, online learning, and countless unknowns, none have been more affected than graduating seniors. Immediately stripped of many campus resources and placed in a position to re-envision their culminating projects, this group of students has flourished amidst disruption. They have proven to be amazingly resourceful, and have embraced a radical flexibility beyond any circumstances they might have previously conceived.
Although personal mentoring and critiques with professional visiting artists were not interrupted, students lost their studio workspaces and were forced to work from makeshift spaces in and around their homes. The physical exhibition was reimagined as an online exhibition, accompanied by additional interpretive materials including an exhibition catalog, and a YouTube series featuring discussions between each student and myself. It is important to emphasize the truly collaborative nature of this venture; it could not have been completed without a co-operative workflow. I offer sincere gratitude to my Studio Art colleagues Heather Harvey and Julie Wills, and to all the students for their combined dedication and collaboration in this process. I extend special thanks to Julie Wills, who designed this fantastic website and exhibit catalog. As the saying goes, adversity breeds creativity; the combined efforts of all involved certainly exemplifies the meaning of this phrase. This year’s exhibition has been appropriately titled UNSETTLED by the SCE class.
-- Tara Gladden, Kohl Gallery Director and Curator
Of course, this year has not been business as usual. This process was interrupted mid-stream as students had to abruptly wrap up their campus lives in an overnight transformation of their education due to COVID-19. As college administration, faculty, and staff reworked and revised plans to accommodate a shaky new normal dominated by social distancing, online learning, and countless unknowns, none have been more affected than graduating seniors. Immediately stripped of many campus resources and placed in a position to re-envision their culminating projects, this group of students has flourished amidst disruption. They have proven to be amazingly resourceful, and have embraced a radical flexibility beyond any circumstances they might have previously conceived.
Although personal mentoring and critiques with professional visiting artists were not interrupted, students lost their studio workspaces and were forced to work from makeshift spaces in and around their homes. The physical exhibition was reimagined as an online exhibition, accompanied by additional interpretive materials including an exhibition catalog, and a YouTube series featuring discussions between each student and myself. It is important to emphasize the truly collaborative nature of this venture; it could not have been completed without a co-operative workflow. I offer sincere gratitude to my Studio Art colleagues Heather Harvey and Julie Wills, and to all the students for their combined dedication and collaboration in this process. I extend special thanks to Julie Wills, who designed this fantastic website and exhibit catalog. As the saying goes, adversity breeds creativity; the combined efforts of all involved certainly exemplifies the meaning of this phrase. This year’s exhibition has been appropriately titled UNSETTLED by the SCE class.
-- Tara Gladden, Kohl Gallery Director and Curator
