Citrus College student artists showcased a year’s worth of work May 7 during ArtShare, an event featuring exhibitions inside the campus gallery.
Inside the gallery, students displayed artwork created throughout the academic year, while outside the Visual Arts building, the Art School College Fair gave students the chance to speak with representatives from art programs and universities.
“We invite the community to come check out what students are working on, what they’re thinking about, and what skills they show,” studio and fine arts professor and gallery director Dyane Duffy said.
Artwork throughout the gallery highlighted paintings, photography, ceramics, animation, mixed media and collaborative projects.
“In all art forms, you have to learn how to apply the technique, and so a lot of student work is learning the basics,” ceramics professor Mike Hillman said.
Several digital media projects were also featured during the exhibition, including 3-D animation work and student photography.
“I’m excited because I toured the gallery on my own, and there is some really amazing art pieces in there that our students created, which shows how talented the students are, but how well they’re learning the concepts from their instructors,” digital media professor Gil Martinez said.
Students said the experience of exhibiting their work helped them feel more comfortable expressing that through art.
“All of my professors here have been really great at encouraging me to express myself in my pictures,” art student Jackson Magallanes said.
One of the projects displayed during ArtShare was a mural named, “Friendship and the hidden dinosaurs” created for the Citrus College play “One Final Beautiful Impossible Year,” which was painted collaboratively by student artists.
“I think it was fun. I loved it. I was really happy to do a cooperative assignment,” said art student Caleb Tapia, who helped paint the mural
Students also used the exhibition to showcase projects tied to possible career paths in the arts and entertainment industries.
“It started as a fun elective class, but as I’ve been doing it more, I’m starting to see the real possibilities of doing this as a career, and I think that’d be a lot of fun to take this on as a career,” digital media student Andrew Meeks said.
The event also highlighted the importance of continuing visual arts opportunities on college campuses.
“I would invite people to come to the gallery and look at student work and revisit why it is so important to have classes in the visual arts and journalism, because not everyone is wired to be a mathematician or an accountant, and all areas of academics are important and relevant,” photography professor Amanda Konya said. “We need to serve all students, regardless of their interests.”
The gallery is open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Monday through Friday on the first floor of the VA Building.
