OBU Art Club to host annual Juried Student Art Exhibit

ARKADELPHIA — Ouachita Baptist University’s Art Club will showcase students’ work in the annual Juried Student Exhibit beginning Thursday through Sept. 29.

The exhibit, featuring art submitted by Ouachita students and selected by guest juror Matthew Smith, will be displayed in the Hammons Gallery in Ouachita’s Mabee Fine Art Center. Admission is free and open to the public. The Juried Student Exhibit is unique because it features art majors’ and non-art majors’ work sideby-side. It is an open competition; any student can submit work done in or outside of the classroom. Along with showcasing the students’ talent, this art exhibit highlights Ouachita’s liberal arts education.

“Art Club strives to foster a love of art for everyone, not just art majors,” said Bethany Lenards, president of Ouachita’s Art Club and a junior graphic design major from Jonesboro. “We recognize that art is not only a profession that we have chosen, but an expression of emotion, a time for relaxation and an activity for all. The arts are important and we don’t want others to lose sight of that. The show has such a good variety of medium, style and technique that showcases the talent that is on this campus.”

“I think it’s great to see how people express themselves, and you never know which artwork you’re going to connect with,” said Summer Bruch, associate professor of visual arts. “That’s the great thing with art, you go not ever expecting to connect with something, and then you walk away with this profound experience.”

Along with featuring students’ work, the exhibit is coordinated almost entirely by students involved in the Art Club. Lenards and Chad Satchell, juried show chairperson and a senior graphic design major from Frisco, Texas, spearheaded the show’s planning.

“We added a new position of juried show chairperson because it is such a large task,” Lenards said. “Chad Satchell is in this role, and he is in charge. As president, I just make sure everything is completed on time and that it runs smoothly. Chad and I work side-by-side to organize, assign roles and make sure all of the tasks are completed.”

The exhibit is judged each year by an external, professional judge. This year’s guest judge is Matthew Smith, an associate professor of visual arts at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and graphic designer. Smith’s exhibit, “Sources of Evangelical Spirituality,” was on display in Ouachita’s Rosemary Gossett Adams Gallery in Moses-Provine Hall earlier this semester.

Having an outside professional artist judge their work is another valuable experience for students. Each judge comes with unique criteria for selecting pieces, so each year features a different mix of works displayed in the exhibit.

“It very much is a professional experience,” Bruch said. “Art is about taking criticism, hearing criticism and taking opinions from everywhere. It’s really important that you get that from someone who didn’t assign you anything, who doesn’t have any prior knowledge of what you do or who you are. They’re getting a very raw look at your work.”

Email Bruch at bruchs@obu.edu or call 870-2454655 for more information about the exhibit.