The Juried Student Exhibit Returns To Queensborough
There are few traditions at Queensborough as storied as the Juried Student Exhibit.
Since 2008, the Art & Design department has collaborated with the QCC Art Gallery to develop the exhibition, which features student-created artwork that has been selected by a panel of faculty members from the department.
As Art & Design Associate Professor and exhibition coordinator Nathaniel Sullivan will tell you, these exhibits are the culmination and celebration of the students' past efforts.
“This exhibition celebrates the talent of our student artists by presenting their work in a professional setting. The show transforms the personal experiences of each artist — their challenges and triumphs — into a shared conversation with viewers and fellow artists.”
This year’s exhibition is a big one for Sullivan, as it is his first year taking the helm. For the past eight years, Lecturer Annemarie Coffey led the show. He supported her last year, before the baton was officially passed to him for this year’s iteration.
“As coordinator, I am involved in every step—from selecting the juries, to framing and designing the catalog, to collaborating with the gallery on installation, promotion, and opening night. But this exhibition is still very much a team effort. It comes to life through the creativity nurtured in our classrooms, the thoughtful curation of submissions, and the collaboration of faculty and staff in every detail—from jury discussions to catalog edits to the final hang.”
This year’s Juried Student Exhibit also happens to be the biggest one yet.
From traditional media, such as drawing, painting, and sculpture, to newer forms, such as animation, video, and digital graphics, the exhibition includes 121 pieces of artwork by 97 student artists.
Three such students are Chava Conway, Mileena Mayo, and Maria Emilia Cadena.
Conway is currently in her second-to-last semester at Queensborough, and intends to transfer to Queens College to further pursue her passion for art. Her piece, “Everbright,” is an 18x24 oil painting of one of her older sisters.
“For my final project in my Painting II class, I wanted to create a portrait, so I asked my sister if she would be willing to be the subject. I asked her to send me pictures of herself that she liked, I wanted her to be involved in the process. I often discuss ideas for my artwork with her, and she helps me come up with names for my pieces. I hope that when people see this painting, they can feel the love I have for my sister.”
“I am really excited to have my art featured in the show,” she added. “This piece is particularly special to me because it portrays my sister. It’s great that this is the piece being showcased, as my sister plays such a significant role in my artistic process. I cannot wait to show it to her at the gallery.”
Meanwhile, Mayo is in her final semester and will be graduating in May. She aims to be a freelance artist, but also wants to make character designs for video games, so it should come as little surprise that two of her pieces are “new media”: namely, animation and digital.
“The three pieces of mine that are displayed show a variety of mediums, from digital art on Adobe Illustrator, traditional with pencil and paper, and animation with Adobe After Effects. The digital drawing is pop art and a portrait of my wonderful mother. She and the rest of my family have my biggest motivators for my artistic endeavors. The traditional drawing was a portrait I did of a student in my Drawing Class. The animation is a parallax plan I did in my animation class; the original plan was to have two dolphins jump out and back into the water, but due to a mistake it ended up looking like multiple. I saw this mistake as a blessing as it adds more to the piece, so I kept it.”
“I’m a little excited and nervous about having my work displayed,” Mayo added. “The last time I had work shown publicly was for a very, VERY tiny painting I made in Elementary school, mine alongside other students' paintings were temporally hung up in the Queens Museum. So having my work displayed once again is exciting. A little Nerve-racking as I’m quite the shy person, so the idea of people seeing me and my art is a little scary.”
Lastly, Cadena is an international student in her second year at Queensborough. She loves to draw, especially objects and landscapes with the technique of realism. In the future, she hopes to show the entire world her talent by working at big companies such as Pixar or Dreamworks.
And judging by her two pieces at the exhibit, she could well be on her way. The first, “Icons” is a 12x12 inkjet print of various simple pictures, such as a vulture, an axe, and various zodiac signs, while the second, “Perspective,” is an 18x24 graphite on paper of the walkway on the side of the Oakland building.
All three students will be at the QCC Art Gallery on Wednesday, April 30 at 1 pm for a guided walkthrough of the exhibition and Q&A session — a prime opportunity for the community to learn more about the artists and the rigors of being an art student.
And coincidentally, that’s exactly what Sullivan hopes our community gets out of the exhibition.
“...the exhibition is a chance to reflect on what makes studying art unique. It is not like other academic disciplines, but it is no less demanding or rigorous. The creative act has a lot of mystique attached to it, so on one hand I hope seeing all this great student work dispels some myths, but leaves the mystery and specialness of each creation intact.”
Indeed, as Sullivan notes, this is the students’ moment — their time to shine. And what better place to do that than in front of all of Queensborough?
So, to Nathaniel Sullivan, the Art & Design Department, the QCC Art Gallery, and most importantly, all the students who made this all possible, congratulations!
The Juried Student Exhibition is now open and will run until June 30, 2025.
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