UWG Hosts the Annual Juried Art Exhibit

       The University of West Georgia’s department of art kicked off the 2018 Juried Art Exhibit that will be held through the beginning of March. The exhibition takes place in the Bobick Galleries in the Humanities Building. It opened on Jan. 18 and will remain available until Mar. 1. The exhibit is an open event available for everyone from 9am to 5pm on weekdays. 

       The exhibit is held each year and it encourages students to create and submit their works of art. “We have a juried student art exhibit every year and it is an opportunity for students to get professional practice and experience with exhibiting their work,” said Stephanie Smith, gallery director and professor at UWG. At the end of each Fall semester, students are able to submit a digital entry of their work to be showcased at the exhibit. Some students had the opportunity to get multiple entries in, while others only had one piece selected. 

        At this year’s exhibit, over sixty art pieces by forty students were picked to be showcased. The pieces varied from paintings, sculptures, printmaking, photographs and drawings. The artists are given the opportunity to have their works of art sold to the highest bidder and they can also win prizes and awards.       The art is judged by an outside juror, who is a professional in the art field that either works at a museum, gallery or is an art professor. 

       “We choose an outside juror to select and judge the work and we do this for two reasons,” said Smith. “Those reasons are because they are professional and they are objective. They have not met the students and they are unbiased. It offers the experience of dealing with acceptance and rejection, which is important for anyone working in the creative field.”  

       The juror for this exhibition is Bruce Bobick, who is the professor emeritus at the University of West Georgia and has also served as the head of the Art Department at the university. Bobick is a well-known watercolor artist and has received multiple awards, including first prize and signature member Peach Award for the Georgia Watercolor Society. Bobick created the Juried Art Exhibit in 1984. 

       There was a wide variety of artwork displayed in the first and second-floor galleries for the students and staff to observe when they walked in. “I love the exhibit,” said Jasmyne Johnson, an art major and the student assistant for Smith. “It is interesting seeing the variety of the work. Seeing everyone’s individual touch on the art is motivational.”  

       The awards reception was  held on  Jan. 25 from 6-8 p.m. At the reception, multiple awards were given out to the participants. The awards included first, second and third place awards, honorable mentions and the Best in Show award that contains a prize of $1,000. The awards help to recognize the participants for their work and the money prize helps support their art making. The reception usually has a turnout of 100-150 people including students, family, alumni and the juror. The winners of the awards were not available in time for publication. Although the awards ceremony is completed, the artwork will still be on display until Mar. 1.