By Tala Alsharif / The Jambar
For art students at Youngstown State University, it’s a goal to showcase a portfolio of passion projects to the world. For Avery Sandy, this proud moment came when 20,000 people saw one of his art pieces at a music festival.
Sandy, a graphic and interactive design student, created a digital poster for Porter Robinson’s album “Nurture.” It was featured at the Second Sky Music Festival in 2022.
“It was shown to over 20,000 people in attendance at the music festival,” Sandy said. “That was one of my proudest moments and best things I’ve worked on as a designer.”
That same piece will be featured at McDonough Museum’s 2024 Spring Graduating Bachelor’s of Fine Arts Exhibition, which will open with a public reception from 5 to 6 p.m. on April 19.
The exhibition will display the work of 14 graduating YSU art students and will be on display until May 4.
Claudia Berlinski, director of McDonough Museum, said the BFA exhibition is a part of a senior project class where graduating students, many of them graphic design and studio art majors, present their diverse bodies of work.
This year’s exhibition includes works of graphic design, studio art, ceramics, digital media, painting and sculptures.
“We have a student who focuses on digital media and she will have some animated films,” Berlinski said. “The second digital media person created an [Alternate Reality] art piece.”
Sandy said the reason for this diversity is because graphic designers explore different mediums to have a well-rounded understanding of art.
“We can apply all those little elements of these different mediums into our design work,” Sandy said.
Sandy’s show will feature an accumulation of his favorite pieces he’s created during his four years at YSU, which includes mixed media graphic design. Much of his work is inspired by music, which led to him working with music artists.
“I incorporate random scraps and stickers into my digital design work, just to create a nice blend between digital and real.” Sandy said. “I always found [it] fascinating and it creates a very deep, heavy piece.”
Sandy said students will be setting up their own work at the BFA exhibition, which gives them experience in learning how to set up exhibits and further prepares them for their careers.
Berlinksi said the exhibition is an exciting opportunity for students to practice their professionalism in organizing and installing their work.
“It’s a really culminating event for them from their four years that they’ve been here, and it’s really gratifying,” Berlinski said.
According to Berlinksi, students often pursue a Master’s degree in Fine Arts at college. Many also work at museums, and some open their own studios.
Sandy said hopes to work in a designer position where he can contribute his creativity to a company’s work.