The Harbor Art gallery hosted their third annual Next student art show this year, called Next III, which is on display until April 19, 2018. University of Massachusetts Boston students of different majors submitted artwork of all kinds, including paintings, photography, and mixed-material sculptures.
For me, I appreciated the fact that it was all student run. I think it was a great opportunity to see students from all areas of study come together under art and show what UMass Boston students as a whole can contribute to the campus. The art is well worth going to see; some of the self portraits are drawn so well, you would think they are photographs. To see that students are putting this much effort into their hobby was inspiring.
Zachary Horn, the advisor for the Art Union undergraduate student club was able to tell me some information about the event. This event was a student-run jury show. This means pieces that were submitted were judged by an outside artist who chose what would go on display. The juror was Russell LaMontagne, founder and director of LaMontagne Gallery. He also picked the entire layout for how the art was displayed. Horn made note of the fact that LaMontagne did the jurying out of the kindness of his heart. The prize for the top three winners was $50. The show was funded by the undergraduate student government (USG) and Student Affairs.
Jesus Pizzaro, who is a senior art major at UMass Boston, was also in the show. Pizzaro decided to submit because he wanted to build up his resume. He plans on going to graduate school, where he will study a one-year program at Boston College for a masters in education. Then, he will go to MassArt to get a two-year masters degree in fine arts. He would like to possibly become an art professor, or at the very least be involved in art education.
“Everyone that’s come through has had very good feedback, and I like the vibe of the room… The hanging of the pieces makes it a more complete experience of what students at UMass Boston are doing as far as art goes. It’s not just open to art majors, you learn a lot more about a person through their art,” Molly Hannon, a student director from the Harbor Art Gallery, said.
This was the third year for the Next show, and all shows are so different—this was the first time that they did “jurors top choice,” and you really see what spoke to the juror the most. Hannon believes it is good to take some time out of your day to see what’s going on at the Harbor Art Gallery. The shows change every month, so maybe a piece will get your mind off of something that’s stressing you out. She wants people to realize art is not as formal as many may think it is.
Molly is open to suggestions and opinions. You can email her at: [email protected]