Juried student art and design exhibit opens at Sarah Spurgeon Gallery

ELLENSBURG — The CWU Sarah Spurgeon Gallery will be hosting the Department of Art + Design’s 2024 Juried Undergraduate Student Art + Design Exhibition over the next month in Randall Hall.

The annual exhibition is a showcase for outstanding undergraduate student work created during the past academic year. It is open to CWU students who have attended classes in the Department of Art + Design.

The opening events will take place Thursday, April 11, with a reception from 5-7 p.m. The award ceremony, where students are recognized for excellence in their artwork, will begin at 6 p.m.

This year’s jurors, who select the artwork for the exhibit and assign several of the awards, are Olivia Lane and Karl Schwiesow. Lane received a BFA in graphic design from CWU in 2019, and now works for Tether, a Seattle-based design, branding, and advertising company. Schwiesow is the director of the Palace Gallery in Ellensburg. His studio work focuses on large-scale ceramic sculpture, plus found and altered objects.

Student awards have been generously donated by the following individuals and organizations: the Student Union Advisory Board, Ted and Louise Wiprud, President Jim Wohlpart and Sasha Wohlpart, Jane Orleman, Professor Emeritus Glen L. Bach, Professor Emeritus Cynthia Krieble, Associate Professor Maya Chachava, Teresa and Dennis Francois, Associate Professor Marcus DeSieno, Gallery One Visual Arts Center, PUNCH Projects, Assistant Professor Justin Colt Beckman, Shane L. Johnson Illustration, Interim Associate Dean Rachel H. Kirk, the Department of Art + Design, and the Sarah Spurgeon Gallery.

The exhibit will remain on view through May 4. Sarah Spurgeon Gallery is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturdays from 1-5 p.m. The gallery is closed Sundays.