March 14, 2018 | UHCL Staff
The selections juried into this year’s University of Houston-Clear Lake Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibition, which opens April 5 and runs through May 3, were the result of a newly implemented mentoring process that took place between graduating senior BFA majors, December graduates and a member of the art and design faculty of each artist’s choosing.
“Students were allowed to submit up to five works, but prior to submitting their selections for this exhibition, each student worked closely with a chosen faculty mentor to help clarify which pieces best represent his or her own particular artistic vision,” said Jeff Bowen, director of UH-Clear Lake’s Art Gallery.
“This discussion used to take place between students and their professors informally, to help solidify what students would like to display,” Bowen said. “But this year, working with the rest of the art and design program faculty members, (Director of the Art School for Children) David Moya crafted a mentorship policy that has been instrumental in helping students prepare for this exhibition.”
“The BFA Exhibition Mentorship Program was created to facilitate artistic professionalism and build stronger student-faculty relationships,” said Moya. “Prior to submitting art works for the BFA Exhibition, students met one-on-one with faculty members to discuss their artistic vision. Based on the recommendations of the faculty, students would select their strongest pieces and even propose new projects suitable for submission.”
Moya added that he hoped that moving forward, this program would be implemented with juniors as well, in order to maximize faculty’s influence and relationships with students.
“Most members of the art and design faculty helped mentor,” Bowen said. “During the jurying process, they evaluated submissions and came to a consensus on each piece—resulting in every student having at least one of their pieces accepted into the exhibition.”
More than 30 students will be exhibiting a combined 53 works in the Art Gallery, located in UHCL’s Bayou Building, 2700 Bay Area Blvd., Houston. The opening preview reception is on Wednesday, April 4, 5-7 p.m. Admission is free, and refreshments are served. Complimentary parking is available in the visitor lot with overflow available in the student lot D.
For more information about UHCL’s Art Gallery, visit https://www.uhcl.edu/art-gallery/.
