By Gabrielle Fellows
Beautiful pieces of art ranging from paintings to sculptures to photographs line the halls of the McDonough Museum of Art. Normally, the artwork displayed is of traveling exhibits or regional artists, but from now until April 10 the museum will house work from Youngstown State University students.
The 79th Juried Student Art and Design Exhibition, sponsored by YSU’s Student Art Association, is a chance for students to show off their hard work in a museum setting. For the students’ art to be accepted into the exhibit, they must enter pieces and have them chosen by a juror, who is different each year.
The judges are chosen upon their knowledge of art, experience and ability to judge multiple art forms. This year, William Busta of the William Busta Gallery in Cleveland, was chosen to be the judge of all the pieces.
Busta boasts a 26-year career in the Northeast Ohio art scene. He is the recipient of the 2014 Cleveland Arts Prize and has promoted multiple artists careers that have gone on to achieve great success.
Daisy Corso, the president of the Student Art Association, said although the event is hosted by the SAA and features a lot of work from art students, anyone can participate.
“Any student can enter work to be judged by the curator for the show,” Corso said. “Even if you aren’t an art student and you do art on the side, you can still submit — it’s all open.”
LeeAnn Lewis, an interdisciplinary studio art major and graphic design minor, said that she believes that displaying student’s art in a gallery is as exciting as it is helpful.
“It’s a really good learning experience. We’re going to school to be artists and it gives us hands-on experience,” Lewis said. “Even if you don’t get accepted, it’s something to learn from. If you take it seriously, it will really help you. … It helps put your foot into the scene.”
Lewis said she is mainly a painter, but got multiple pieces into the show and is equally excited about all of them.
“It definitely excites me to see my art in there,” Lewis said. “Even though it is a student show, the museum states that all the shows they host are equally important. It gives you a new perspective seeing your art somewhere other than your studio.”
