On Feb. 22, the Thompson Gallery in Koch Hall opened its doors to welcome students, staff and the general public to view a rare show. “Any and All” is unique, as the art show was the first to be curated by a student in the last three years.
Sophomore Elizabeth Wetterstroem was in charge of organizing the show, securing space in the Thompson Gallery and helping to decide which works made the final cut. When asked what the main idea behind “Any and All” was, Wetterstroem said: “I wanted to showcase the work of all Wittenberg artists, regardless of major or minor. Even though many of the artists ended up being art majors and minors, there were a few students that are from other backgrounds. It is important to embrace artists all over Wittenberg’s campus, and that’s why I named the show ‘Any and All’ – anyone could submit art, and at least one piece of work from all submitters was selected.”
Excited, and a little bit daunted, Wetterstroem started the process of creating the show last fall. She brainstormed with art history professor Alejandra Gimenez-Berger to get the bare bones, and planned out the space and duration of the show with professor of art Ed Charney, who is in charge of the Anne Miller and Thompson Gallery spaces.
“The plans really came to fruition at the end of January, and once artwork was submitted, it only took a few hours to jury, hang and label the show. It is a surprisingly quick process once the art is obtained,” Wetterstroem said.
The show itself received 21 works to judge, and chose to display 18. Senior painting major Kelli Harrod helped in jurying the show.
Wetterstroem explained: “By [working with Harrod], I hoped to balance any bias that could come when choosing the works. Having two opinions instead of just my own allowed the selection process to be based on what work we both thought was the best.” As for the pieces that were cut, Wetterstroem said that it was due to the amount of space available in the gallery and chose the works that “best represent art at Wittenberg.”
Wetterstroem explained that the show includes work from students of all backgrounds, “from freshmen to seniors. Seven of the nine artists are art majors, and the other two are outside of the department.”
The students with work on display are Charlie Davis, ‘17; Alexis Gibson, ‘17; Harrod, ‘16; Chebrya Jeffrey, ‘16; Emma Lyons, ‘19; Brook Raymond, ‘16; Austin Riggle, ‘17; Samantha Taylor, ‘17 and Wetterstroem, ‘18.
When asked to describe her feelings on the week leading up to the opening, Wetterstroem said: “I was excited to see the finished gallery as a whole once all of the works were hung and the labels placed on the wall. As an art history major, I hope to someday be a curator in an art museum. Curating this show gave me a small taste of what it is like to obtain art, make selections and display the work. It was a great learning experience that I am very fortunate to have had.”
