Due to the global pandemic, this year’s annual student art show is being displayed online Every winter semester, students from the BYU Department of Art have the opportunity to display artwork in a special gallery exhibition in the Harris Fine Arts Center. This year, faculty and staff adapted to the social distancing requirements due to the pandemic and displayed the artwork online. “The day the university decided to vacate the campus and move to remote learning was the day before the gallery was set to accept submissions for what would have been this year's physical student show,” said gallery director Eric Edvalson. “Unfortunately, we had to cancel the physical show, but we still wanted to give the students an opportunity to show their work.
The online exhibition displays over 50 pieces of art from the students. Although seniors have opportunities throughout the year to display their work at their final BFA exhibitions, the annual student show is a valuable opportunity for the wider student body of the Department of Art to display their work and to possibly win awards. This year, guest juror Madeline Rupard selected the award-winning artwork for the online exhibition. Rupard is a recent graduate of Pratt Institute with an MFA in painting, and she is an alumni of the BYU Department of Art.Tess Cowley won first place for her piece “Untitled - Ceramic” while Carrie Jube Everett took second with “Figment” and Elisabeth Baird took third with her piece “Bread.” Honorable Mentions included: Stephen Clawson, “The Regular Price;” Jeffrey Hampshire, “Google Earth Series;” Carolyn Koo, “A Picnic Feeling;” Hannah Landeen, “Travis’ Hoodie;” and Ricey Wright, “See You At the Top.”“Without a doubt, we would love to be viewing this art in person if we could,” Edvalson said. “Still, the diversity of work really shines in a digital environment, both individually and collectively.”To view the exhibition visit 2020 Annual Student Exhibition.