Experiences from previous gallery exhibitions
By Caroline Ho, Arts Editor
Exhibiting your artwork in a professional gallery space, meeting fellow artists, and sharing a passion for creativity with fellow students and employees at Douglas—the reasons to submit to past present future are myriad.
The Amelia Douglas Gallery’s upcoming past present future exhibition runs from January 11 to February 25, 2018 and will feature artwork by current students and current and retired employees. Submissions are currently open for artwork of any skill level and in any medium. Interested artists simply need to apply by sending in a brief statement and up to three images of artwork before November 17, and the gallery’s Art Exhibit Committee will do its best to include at least one of these works.
The previous Douglas employee and student exhibition, Avocations, was held several years ago. Avocations featured a range of works and styles by artists from various corners of the college and levels of expertise, including Maria Janicki, a professor in the Department of Psychology and an avid photographer who exhibited three of her works in Avocations.
Janicki told the Other Press via email that she found the experience of participating in the show to be very rewarding. It gave artists the opportunity to showcase their own work to their colleagues, students, or instructors, and to see the diverse range of talent in the Douglas community, which might not be expressed in ordinary college interactions.
“Many people have a creative and artistic side but we don’t always get to see it, and may not be aware of it. What a shame to miss out!” said Janicki.
In addition to participating in Avocations and a previous student and employee show at Douglas, Janicki has also exhibited her photography in a variety of other local group shows, including with the Vancouver Photowalks group and the Pacific Digital Photography Club’s annual Photomotion show.
Compared to these other exhibitions, Janicki said she appreciates the diversity of the Douglas shows, given their size—Avocations included works by 20 employee and student artists.
The in-house shows also stand out because of their ties to the college. “I got to present my art alongside my colleagues and students to the rest of the Douglas community. We all get to learn a bit more about each other,” she wrote.
In addition to the benefit of sharing her work with others, she said she finds that planning to submit to a gallery motivates her creativity, and she highly encourages people who are considering participating in past present future to take the opportunity. She is currently planning herself which photographs to submit for the upcoming exhibition.
Guidelines: https://www.douglascollege.ca/about-douglas/groups-and-organizations/art-gallery/submission-guidelines
Deadline for submissions: November 17
