“In the Works” Exhibit Highlights Student Artwork on Campus

On Tuesday, March 1, the second annual student-curated student art exhibition opened in the VCAM Upper Create Space and online at https://intheworks2021.wixsite.com/vcam. Entitled “In the Works”, the exhibit, curated by sophomores Jalen Martin ’23 and Izzy Ray ’23, features work from over 20 students, representing students from each year and from Haverford and Bryn Mawr.

After contributing to last year’s student art exhibit, curated by Courtney Carter ’17, Post-Baccalaureate Fellow for the Hurford Center for the Arts and Humanities (HCAH), Ray awaited news of this year’s exhibit. After hearing radio silence, she reached out to James Weissinger, Associate Director of HCAH, and got approval to begin working on the exhibit. Ray enlisted the help of co-curator Jalen Martin. The pair worked with Weissinger and Matthew Callinan, Associate Director of the Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery and Campus Exhibitions, to reach out to students, collect submissions, and put together the exhibit. 

In an interview with Martin and Ray upon the opening of the exhibit, Martin explained that they originally settled on the theme of “In the Works” after noticing that students were going through a rough time. “We didn’t really want to come up with a theme that was too specific, because we were unsure if people were going to actually submit at work,” said Martin.

Initially, the pair had trouble collecting submissions, forcing them to push back the submission deadline. Eventually, they received enough submissions and began crafting the multimedia exhibit.

Ray reflected on the engagement with the theme, explaining, “There are some works in progress in there or drafts of something that we’re eventually going to turn into something else. But, there’s also work that explicitly demonstrates the art-making process.”

She specifically brought up a piece by Maggie Zhang ’24, entitled “What’s in Maggie’s Art Journal,” as an example of the process. Similarly, Ray mentioned her own piece, “Growing Pains.”

“I left a bunch of the wire exposed, so you could see what it was made out of, because that’s really important to me, in terms of engaging with the theme, and then there’s also work that has to do with personal growth,” Ray said.

On that same train of thought, she also highlighted “Juriansz”, a short film by Chloe Juriansz ’21 about her last name and discovery of family background and the hanging “Untitled Ribbon Pieces 1 & 2” self-portraits by Ainsley Bruton ’21. They “actually have a lot of portraits in there, which I think is really interesting in terms of engaging with the theme of growth and change and metamorphosis,” Ray said.

In curating the exhibit, Martin and Ray discussed every minor detail, from the size of the TV playing Juriansz’ short film, to the manner in which a person moves through the show (they suggest clockwise). The pair attempted to create a balance between the different media forms, ultimately deciding to separate 3D works, organize some sections by color, and place similar 2D processes together.

In their final reflections on the experience, the pair described that “the beauty of the exhibition is that they all like they all fit together and they all kind of reflect different aspects of the theme.” They also shared their appreciation for everyone who contributed to the show, and hope that the tradition of a student-run art show continues in the coming years.

If you get the chance, visit “In the Works” either online or in-person before it closes on April 11. The show features pieces by: 

Vinny Ong, Bryn Mawr ’22
Calum Mitchell, Haverford ’24
Rebecca Stevens, Haverford ’21
Husnal Bhasin, Bryn Mawr ’23
Sophie Schleifer, Haverford ’22
Daniel Qin-Dong, Haverford ’21
Athena Intanate, Haverford ’23
Maggie Zhang, Haverford ’24
Caroline Donado, Haverford ’23
Izzy Ray, Haverford ’23
Lina Marsella, Haverford ’23
Rachel Adler, Bryn Mawr ’21
Aszana López-Bell, Haverford ’21
Hurum Maksora Tohfa, Bryn Mawr ’22
Andrew Lummus, Haverford ’21
Ainsley Bruton, Haverford ’21
Claire Johnson, Haverford ’22
Alex Gomez, Haverford ’23
Aaliyah Joseph, Bryn Mawr ’22
Chloe Juriansz, Haverford ’21

This article has been updated to reflect the extended exhibition period for “In the Works.”