Gallery 229, an on-campus exhibition space devoted to photography and experimental installations, is giving studio arts majors an inside track to career success.
The showcase space, located on the second floor of the LSU Art Building, features roughly a dozen student exhibitions annually, with each exhibition showing over the course of two weeks. The majority of the exhibited work comes from junior and senior undergraduates, challenging students to rise to the occasion and produce professional quality work, said assistant photography professor Johanna Warwick.
Warwick and two other studio arts professors oversee the gallery’s operation and, with a team of graduate students, form the jury committee that accepts show applications and selects each season’s exhibition slate.
The competition element of the process pushes students to develop strong thematic concepts, concisely present their work and focus on the technical acumen necessary to produce a show, all skills they’ll need after graduation, she said.
Fifth-year photography student Brady Connelly is currently showing “Sororum,” a showcase produced with fellow photography senior Vernell Dunams, in the space through Sept. 2. Connelly said the experience has opened her eyes to the technical challenges and pitfalls of executing a show and has boosted her confidence as she prepares to transition into her post-graduate career.
Connelly said the collaboration with Dunams has shown her how to meld her creative vision with another artist’s and explore new artistic components, including accompanying text and video work. The photography senior said it’s commonplace for students to get creatively bogged down during the semester and the exhibition opportunity helps breathe fresh life into their work.
When aspiring student exhibitors see successful student showcases it ignites their own drive, inspiring a new crop of show-worthy student work and feeding back into the studio’s momentum, Warwick said.
College is a great time for students to test the gallery waters, Warwick said.
“You’re in a smaller community here,” she said. “This is the place you have the opportunity to try it. Once you leave the campus and finish the program, there’s other opportunities but you’re also suddenly in a much larger pool. I think it’s a great place to start and to build the confidence of putting together a show.”
Aside from benefitting the student exhibitioners, Gallery 229 also offers faculty, students and community members the opportunity to explore the diverse work being produced on campus.
The gallery features a range of offerings, both in media and subject matter, from documentary style photography on traditional film to more conceptual, studio-shot showcases that evoke mood and emotion through light and color, Warwick said.
Photography is an accessible artistic medium because everyone has experiences with capturing personal photographs, and the gallery helps viewers question their understanding of the art form and its possibilities, she said.
“I think it helps to expand, both within the School of Art and within the general public, the conception of what photography can be and what art can be,” Warwick said.
