Artworks by three Clark University seniors made a winning sweep at the ninth annual Colleges of Worcester Consortium (COWC) Student Art Exhibit.
First prize went to Jennifer Heim for her oil painting “Secrets.” Ariela Sturgis won second prize for her oil painting “White-Faced Monkey,” and third prize went to Kate Trancynger for her oil painting “Psychology of the Body I.”
The juried exhibition, also known as The College Show, began in 2005 to showcase select fine artworks by students from COWC colleges and universities, including Clark University, Anna Maria College, Assumption College, Becker College, College of the Holy Cross, Quinsigamond Community College, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Worcester State University. This year, 67 works are on display. The top artists receive cash awards.
An opening celebration for The College Show took place Feb. 15 at the ArtsWorcester Aurora Gallery on Main Street in Worcester. The exhibit will be on display until March 21.
According to ArtsWorcester, the annual student exhibition is “a rare opportunity to experience Worcester as a college town and to see its wealth of new artistic talent.” Works in painting, photography, sculpture, paper and new media all are eligible for consideration by the juror. This year’s entries were reviewed by Carol Keller, professor of art at Amherst College.
Heim, of New Hampshire, majors in studio art and theater arts. Her extra-curricular activities include performing, stage managing and audio and optics crew. Her art has been on display at the Burren College of Art, in Ballyvaughan, Ireland.
Sturgis, of Vermont, majors in studio art with a minor in music performance. She is a member of the Clark Bars a cappella group and the Chamber Ensembles, Concert Choir and Chamber Choir. Her artwork has been exhibited in Frog Hollow, Vermont, the Burren College of Art, and at Acoustic Java in in Worcester.
Trancynger, of Massachusetts, is double-majoring in studio art and psychology. Her extra-curricular activities include the Public Entertainment Committee (P.E.C.). She has had work on display in the Schiltkamp Gallery at the Traina Center for the Arts, at Clark University.
“This show provides a great opportunity – the first for many students – to submit work to a competitive juried exhibition, and in a professional venue,” said Clark Professor Elli Crocker, who directs the studio art program in the Visual & Performing Arts department. “Their success in this juried exhibit demonstrates the quality of the work being created through our relatively small program here at Clark and how we can be competitive on a larger stage.”
Heim, Sturgis and Trancynger are now working on thesis projects, which will be included in the 2013 Senior Thesis Exhibit during Clark’s Academic Spree Day, April 24.
Founded in 1887 in Worcester, Massachusetts, Clark University is a small, liberal arts-based research university addressing social and human imperatives on a global scale. Nationally renowned as a college that changes lives, Clark is emerging as a transformative force in higher education today. LEEP (Liberal Education and Effective Practice) is Clark’s pioneering model of education that combines a robust liberal arts curriculum with life-changing world and workplace experiences. Clark’s faculty and students work across boundaries to develop solutions to contemporary challenges in the areas of psychology, geography, management, urban education, Holocaust and genocide studies, environmental studies, and international development and social change. The Clark educational experience embodies the University’s motto: Challenge convention. Change our world. www.clarku.edu