The Gustavus Art & Art History is presenting the Junior Exhibition at the Schaefer Gallery. Held every year, this is put on by junior year art majors at Gustavus to celebrate their talents, both within the Gustavus community and with the public. This exhibition opens Tuesday, April 23, and runs until Tuesday, May 14, with the public reception being Tuesday, April 23, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Schaefer Art Gallery.
Students Willa Brown ‘25, a Studio Art and English double major with a film minor, and Kaelyn LoBalbo ‘25, a Studio Art and Peace, Justice, and Conflict Studies double major, spoke about their experiences working on this exhibit.
“I have really enjoyed Gustavus as the community is really nice and that comes through in the art department as well, as you are celebrated by both peers and professors alike,” said Brown ‘25 about the support here. “There are smaller, more niche classes here that are offered here.”
The community element is a truly special part of Gustavus that helps to bring every program to life and foster such a welcoming environment.
“The community of Gustavus is what really made me love it here and want to pursue everything here” voiced LoBalbo ‘25. “The art department specifically, we have a lot of unique experiences like visiting artists coming in and critiquing our work and we get a lot of professional opinions on the work that we are producing that helps us reimagine the work to become more refined and just more successful. The opportunities we have here are really great and the connections we get to have with our professors and they genuinely know us and what we want and what work we want to be making.”
The two then spoke about their experiences bringing the Juniors Exhibition in specific together, touching on the work that they have put in and what can be expected come opening.
“It has been fun that each class we do more preparation” said Brown ‘25 about the work put into the exhibition. “It has been really fun to see everyone buckle down and make the work they want to and I am really excited to see everything up and see how things are placed.”
The Junior Exhibition is a celebration of all the hard work that the junior Gustavus Studio Art majors have put in, and will truly be a sight to behold. Learn more about the Gustavus Art & Art History Department here.