ST. MARY’S CITY, Md. (Jan. 22, 2010) — After a semester of searching through the St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM) art collection, which includes such notables as Salvador Dali, Alexander Calder and Pablo Picasso, students will host an exhibition of their favorite artworks from January 27-February 27 at the Boyden Gallery in Montgomery Hall. This month-long exhibit is free and open to the public, and begins with a reception from 5-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, January 27. Then in February, it is the public’s turn to choose its favorites. When you come to the exhibition, you will be able to vote for one of 10 additional artworks from the college’s collection. The winning work will be revealed as part of the exhibition, “What Lies Beneath?: A Student-Curated Exhibition,” Wednesday, February 17, from 4:30-6 p.m.
The students’ goals are to bring to light some of the artwork in the college’s art collection, reveal some of the processes that goes through preparing for an exhibition, and encourage both the college and the community to discover the potential that art has to offer. “We’re the first curatorial studies’ class to actually complete this project, so it’s really exciting,” said Allie Snyder ’11.
Students in the Curatorial Studies’ class began their fall semester by choosing their favorite works from the school’s collection, and then began researching the artwork, artists, and historical background and cultural context of their selected works. Also as part of the process, students surveyed various members of the community to see what people might look for in an art exhibition and how much (or little) they knew about the college’s art collection.
For more information visit the exhibition web site at http://whatliesbeneathsmcm.blogspot.com/ .