Please join us at University Galleries on Wednesday, April 12 for the opening of the 2017 Student Annual. The reception will take place from 5-7pm, with awards announced at 6pm. The awards ceremony will also include the presentation of School of Art student scholarships.

Since 1974, the Student Annual has showcased new artwork produced by students at Illinois State University. The juried exhibition, which features work in a variety of mediums and styles, offers many students the first opportunity to have their work reviewed by professionals outside the University.

The School of Art is pleased to present Marshall Dulaney Pitcher Awards to MFA student Mariko Brown Harkin and BFA student Kayla Scott. Both artists will be recognized for their achievements during the presentation of awards. To further honor their accomplishments, University Galleries will devote additional exhibition space to the presentation of new works by both artists.

Awards totaling just under $3,000 are presented as scholarships, ranging from $50 to the Best in Show award of $300. Awards sponsors are: The School of Art; Douglas Blines Memorial; Arts Technology Program; Normal Editions Workshop; Randy Reid; The Silica Ceramics Club; The DeGeal Interactive Design Award; Irving S. Tick Award; Richard D. Finch Undergraduate Drawing and Printmaking Award; and the following areas within the School of Art-Glass and Graphic Design.

This year’s studio juror is Claire Ashley, whose work explores feminism, motherhood, and abstract painting through absurd, DayGlo-colored pneumatic sculptures that can inflate to the size of entire rooms. Originally from Edinburgh, Scotland, Ashley currently lives in Oak Park, Illinois, and teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the Department of Contemporary Practices. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in solo and group exhibitions, site-specific installations, and performances.

Our design juror is Bud Rodecker, whose design explores the space between logical constraints and formal play, and balancing form with meaning. He is a principal designer at Thirst, Chicago, and an adjunct professor in design, graphics and animation at DePaul University. His work has been exhibited at the Venice Architecture Biennale, the Chicago Cultural Center, and Typeforce, and has been published in Graphis, Concept Magazine, IdN Magazine, SLANTED, and others.

The 2017 Student Annual reception is sponsored by The College of Fine Arts, Friends of the Arts, Casey’s Garden Shop and Florist, and Jimmy John’s.

Events at University Galleries are free and open to the public. Free parking is available in the deck directly above University Galleries beginning at 5:01pm. Please contact University Galleries at gallery@ilstu.edu or 309.438.5487 if you need to arrange an accommodation to participate in this programming.

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Tags: 2017 Student Annual, Normal, University Galleries of Illinois State University