This past Thursday, September 14th, many students attended “The Gallery,” a Student Photography Exhibition hosted by the Student Visual Arts Society (SVAS) and the Arts & Culture First Year Program students. This was the 5th annual Photo Gallery at Cairn University since being initiated back in 2013.

While at the event I had the privilege of talking with Andrea N. Fiori, Director of the Arts & Culture First Year Program and Professor in the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She informed me of how, over the years, the Photo Gallery has helped with enabling the overall art culture on campus to thrive. She explained that “students from all majors have the ability to submit their photos and be a part of the Photo Gallery experience because of the open submission policy that was established.”

One student, Bianca Birney, has been submitting her photos to the gallery for the past three semesters. She explained how film photography is a fun and creative outlet for her.

She went on to say,

“The gallery is a nice way to get people together and to appreciate your peers’ art. It allows the students to freely be able to say the things they want to say through their art . . . and it makes people feel special.”

As I was walking through the gallery, watching the students admire the photos lined along the walls of the library, you could tell how much they enjoyed being able to see the work of their fellow peers. There were “oohs” and “ahhs” as the students walked past each section of photos.

AJ Velichko, a Senior at Cairn University, was one of the students at The Gallery admiring the displayed photos.

He explained,

“I’ve been coming to this event for the past three years. It’s really cool to see how students from Cairn have been able to travel and take photographs all around the world.”

At the gallery, I was able to find photos featured from all different places including New York City, Rome, Italy, Philadelphia, Boston, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Louisville, South Africa, Tetevo, Canada, among various other places.

Matthew Stemler, an Instructor of Graphic Design and Studio Arts in the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said, “I am extremely impressed with the amount of investigation of subject and choice of composition from the students.” Before coming to Cairn this year, Stemler was teaching high school fine arts for 19 years and has much experience with fine art events. He is also a part of the Fine Arts Festival Visual Arts Team for the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI).

I had a great time at the Photo Gallery this past week, and I am looking forward to attending and submitting more photos in the events to come. It has inspired me to continue capturing things that bring me joy, whether that be the beauty of God’s wondrous Creation, or the smile on someone’s face while enjoying their favorite ice cream.

The Photo Gallery will remain in the Masland Library until Tuesday, October 24th, in order to give all students an opportunity to view the photos taken by their fellow peers.

If interested in submitting your own photos for the next Photo Gallery that will be taking place on January 25th, 2018, you can email Professor Fiori at afiori@cairn.edu or talk with any of the students involved with the Student Visual Arts Society (SVAS).

The Fine Art Gallery will also be coming up this Fall, on October 26th. See you there!