Call for art submissions from students and employees at Douglas College
By Cheryl Minns, Arts Editor
The Amelia Douglas Gallery at Douglas College has featured many amazing art exhibits from BC artists, but is now looking for something even more local. The upcoming fall exhibit, Avocations, is seeking art submissions from current students and employees of Douglas College by June 1 to create the gallery’s third student/employee art exhibit.
Amanda Maxwell, a former Print Futures student, participated in the 2012 student/employee art exhibit A Big To-DO. As a mixed media artist, jewellery designer, and founder of Pomo Mama Design, Maxwell submitted jewellery and wearable art to the exhibit that were also for sale through the show.
“It’s always an amazing thrill to see your own work on the wall or display space of a gallery,” Maxwell wrote to the Other Press. “There was no theme for the show, so it was more about getting out there and being recognized.”
Mikki Herbold, an educational media technologist at Douglas College, is a member of the gallery’s Art Exhibit Committee and recalls when the group decided to make the exhibit an open-call for the college community.
“We thought it would be fun to have everybody put forward projects that they do on the side that other people don’t know about. It’s anything from quilting, photography, ceramics, jewellery, film,” she said.
In 2012, her job involved taking photographs at the college and she was used to her work being seen by many people. For A Big To-DO, she submitted photos that she had taken for her own interest, and was unsure of how they would be received by audiences.
“The process of putting your work in is always a bit scary because you’re putting yourself out there,” she said. “I was a bit fearful of people seeing my work that I myself enjoy doing in comparison to the type of photography I do at the college. I love photographing women and babies and pregnant women.”
Unlike Maxwell’s work, Herbold’s photographs were not for sale at the exhibit since the photographs were of a more personal nature. One of them, “Cousins,” featured her pregnant niece wrapped in a white sheet being pulled back by her other niece, revealing the shape of the woman’s pregnant belly.
“I loved that photo shoot because it was all my nieces and daughters together and it was so much fun,” Herbold said. “Two nieces were pregnant and I photographed both of them together. That was an honour.”
Tamara Letkeman, a supervisor in the Douglas College marketing and communications office, submitted black and white photographs she took while travelling, such as “The Pyramids at Giza” and “Fortune teller, Seoul.” Her work wasn’t for sale at the exhibit, but the photographs did attract the attention of viewers. The New West Cultural Crawl, which occurred while A Big To-DO was running, even featured “Fortune teller, Seoul” on the event’s website under the listing for the Amelia Douglas Gallery.
“Any chance for exposure for your work is good, whether it’s a big gallery, a small gallery, a café, or online,” Letkeman said. “This exhibit is a great opportunity. You’re not really competing against people—this is a community thing.”
“To have yourself in a gallery and show your stuff is very exciting, very exhilarating,” Herbold said. “Your friends come, they support you, and it’s good for people to have a little bit of networking.”
To submit your art for consideration in the Avocations exhibit running from October 29 to December 11, please send your images and a brief statement about yourself, your field, and your art to Douglas College’s arts events officer Krista Eide at eidek@douglascollege.ca by June 1.
