Ouachita Stories

Ouachita Baptist University’s Art Club is hosting its annual Student Juried Art Show. The event will be held in Hammons Gallery in Mabee Fine Arts Center Jan. 20-Feb. 7, 2014, with a reception on Saturday, Feb. 1, at 7:30 p.m. The deadline for submissions is Monday, Dec. 2.

“The juried show is an opportunity for students, Art and Design majors or not, to interact with one another in the mode of producing an exhibit, something a bit off the beaten path in our typical day,” said Donnie Copeland, chair of Ouachita’s Department of Art and Design and assistant professor of Art and Design.

The Juried Student Art Show is a campus-wide art competition open to all students. Students are encouraged to submit artwork to Jeff Sharp, Katelyn Smith, Summer Bruch or Adam Oakes Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. until Dec. 2, with an entry fee of $5.

“Filling the gallery with great art is a good thing, but it also breaks the boundaries between majors to compete in art. It is basically the OBU art Olympics,” said Art Club President Adam Oakes, a senior graphic design and computer science major from Campbell, Texas.

Each year, a professional artist is invited to judge the art show. This year, Ouachita will host David Stoddard, professor of art at Henderson State University. Stoddard teaches graphic and media design, computer art and papermaking.

“Stoddard will come in after all the pieces are submitted on Dec. 2 and judge them. Once artwork is judged, the students will be notified if their piece has been chosen to be in the exhibit. Students can then frame their pieces for the final reception,” Oakes explained. He said artists will be awarded a first, second and third place, along with various honorable mentions and other awards by the art club and faculty. The awards will be presented at the reception Feb. 1, at 7:30 p.m. in the gallery.

“For visual artists, simply having put all the paint, glaze or pencil in place is just the beginning of finishing a work,” Copeland added. “Artists need the opportunity to put their work out in public, on view, and see it as it would be seen by a stranger. Doing so finishes the work in a more complete way.”

For more information on he Juried Student Art Show, contact Summer Bruch at [email protected] or (870) 245-4655.

By Molly Anne Turner