By John Ostapowicz / The Jambar
The McDonough Museum of Art debuted its 87th Annual Juried Art and Design Exhibition from 5 to 7 p.m. on March 22. The exhibit was coordinated with Youngstown State University’s Student Art Association.
The gallery featured artwork by students with a variety of entries, such as paintings, sculptures, wood carvings and abstract pieces. The artworks were judged by juror Liz Maugans, the director of the YARDS Projects and curator of Dalad Collection at Worthington Yards in Cleveland.
In total, 17 awards were handed out to university students, which were donated by local business, retired faculty and the McDonough Museum.
Lindsay DeLullo, a senior interdisciplinary studio art major and vice president of SAA, said she credits a “sense of community” to the support of SAA.
“Having everyone help and knowing everyone for this long and going through the process three times has been wonderful. There will be great memories that I can reflect on throughout my life,” DeLullo said.
SAA also handed out awards, such as the President’s Award to DeLullo for “August on the Creekside: A Love Letter to Spencer and Thad” and the Vice President’s Award to Justin McIntosh for “A Series of Doubts.”
Other awards, such as the TREK Coffee House Award was given to Samuel Mastorides for “Hatchet,” while the I Can’t Get It Out of My Head Award went to Courtney McNutt for “Waiting on the Clear & Sorry Mom.”
Although the awards and debut have passed, the artworks will be on display through April 6.
Alana Carkido, junior art education major and president of SAA, said bringing a juror to award students for their hard work has always been a fun experience.
“It’s a fun process to have a juror come in who doesn’t know anything about the students, staff or maybe just a little bit about the faculty,” Carkido said. “It’s nice to have them come in and award some of the best art.”
DeLullo said offering workshops and critiques on artworks will help students after graduation.
“Hosting these annual student exhibitions really helps people’s confidence grow because we offer a lot of awards for people to win, and they are able to submit an unlimited number of species,” DeLullo said. “It’s very beneficial for teaching [students] how to become a professional artist.”
Maugans graduated from Kent State University in 1992 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in printmaking. She has a wide range of artistic works featured throughout Northeast and Central Ohio, including the Progressive Art Collection, the Cleveland Clinic and The Riffe Center for Government and the Arts.
Throughout her career, Maugans received an Ohio Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship grant in 2000 as well as an Artist-In-Communities grant in 2005.
