At the end of every semester, a class of students from the University of Georgia prepares to embark on their next journey into adulthood. For graduating seniors at UGA’s Lamar Dodd School of Art, this milestone includes the annual Bachelor of Fine Arts Exit Show, an opportunity to showcase their work before earning their diplomas.
This year’s art show, titled “Where the Sidewalk Ends,” will showcase work from 42 students, split up into two weeks of exhibitions in the Dodd Galleries. The first week will run from April 7-13, with an opening reception on April 7 from 6-8 p.m.. The second week will run from April 21-27, with an opening reception on April 21 from 6-8 p.m.
“The show's title, ‘Where the Sidewalk Ends,’ is important because it's the end of our road here at UGA. And that's something exciting because it starts a whole new set of possibilities,” said Wakefield Ausband, a show organizer and a senior showcasing work in the first week of exhibitions. “Some students dedicate their semester to working for this exit show specifically.”
The name of the show references Shel Silverstein’s book of children’s poems released in 1974. While this may be the end of the seniors’ college life and experience, they are now going out into the real world.
Jaime Bull, part-time instructor of the senior capstone art class along with professor Maria Artemis, spoke highly of the students in her class that will be showing artwork and has given them an open approach to encourage creativity. Since the BFA exit show is student-run, she only helps with coordination and logistics.
“Instead of a class project where I'm giving them [instructions], it's all self directed, and it's what the students really want to make and what's important to them,” Bull said. “It's been really a great experience of how the students have come together and gotten to understand each other's work. And there's a lot of thought that goes into the curation… It's also really fun to see how that work bounces off of each other and influences each other.”
The show will include jewelry, ceramics, painting, drawing, weaving and more. The variety of art reflects the diversity of students and their interests in the Lamar Dodd School of Art.
Ausband, a painting and drawing major, will present work inspired by past travels.
“I'm presenting five paintings that are all abstractions inspired [by] natural life landscapes and some architectural elements that I've combined from images I've taken from trips. Specifically, [from] this one restaurant in Paris that I felt really inspired by,” Ausband said.
TM Pruitt, another student in the exit show, is presenting art using the symbolism of objects and colors to show memories. Pruitt’s work will be shown during week two, April 21-27.
“My work is about memory and collaging my personal experience and memory into art … I just hope [my work] creates this space for people to connect with because the landscape and the set-up of my paintings are pretty familiar,” Pruitt said. “It's just done in these really exotic colorways.”
For both students and professors, this year’s show is different from others.
“This was one of [the students’] first semesters back in school after the pandemic. [The pandemic] seemed like a darker time. This time around is more hopeful. I'm starting to see a lot of humor … I feel like we're all recovering together, and I think that it feels like we're on a really good path,” Bull said.
Ella Hopkins, another graduating BFA student, will showcase her work in week two and has experienced the pandemic’s effects on her college experience.
“This is a very interesting time to be at school because of the economic state of the world. We had the pandemic while we were in these art classes. And I think that this pretty large cohort of people really just love art. It really just is about the work. It's just how we feel useful and like a part of the world in this generation that is entering the real world,” Hopkins said.
Many of the students have built close bonds and relationships with each other, working on their artwork side by side and helping one another by critiquing and commenting on each other’s work.
“I just feel like there's a lot of community in the BFA class,” Pruitt said. “And that's a really special feeling. It's my work up there and the wall that I have, but it has all of these other people's inputs and thoughts put into it. And I think that's really special between all of us, as a group.”
