Union art gallery suffering from lack of entries

Only 10 students decided to submit works in September for an exhibit in the highly trafficked Student Union gallery.

Their 12 pieces are not enough to cover the long hallway, leaving large gaps along the gallery walls.

“While many students complain about not having any place to showcase their work on campus, they still do not turn their work in, which makes the committee’s job harder,” said Shivani Chudasama, the art gallery coordinator of the Carolina Union Activities Board, who arranged this exhibit.

Chudasama put out a call for student works in late September and installed the gallery the second week of October.

“People underestimate the difficulty of what it takes to put up a really nice show. It’s not just pinning something up,” said Jeff Whetstone, an associate professor in the art department.

Artwork in the Student Union cannot be insured because the gallery is more of a hallway than a closed gallery space.

Student artists often need their work to be well protected and framed before put on display in the Union. Students risk having their work damaged while on display.

“We had a photography show that was organized for a former student there, and a lot of his stuff got destroyed,” Whetstone said.

He said some visitors had stuck objects in the art when it was on display.

“It would have been one thing if it were to have been insured, but it wasn’t, so he just lost out on a lot of money.”

Most of the works currently on display are not in protective coverings, but no incidents of damage have been reported.

Though the current show is small, Chudasama said she has plans for the growth of the gallery in the future.

“For our first show, we decided to stick just to student artwork, but in the future we hope to bring local artists and more student shows that represent our diverse student body,” Chudasama said.

“Our overall goal is to make the gallery a space where students can enjoy the space and socially engage in the artwork.”

Events such as an opening ceremony and gallery talks bring more attention to the pieces in the Union and allow them to be more than simply pictures on the wall.

Whetstone said that the gallery should be more than just a decorative space.

“It is the oldest form of cultural recording in our species,” he said of art. “But it’s also a great way to socialize over something that is fairly deep and meaningful.

“I think that’s why it is important to have events around pictures.”

Kerry Kelso, whose piece is in the exhibit, said submitting work was a worthwhile endeavor.

Kelso said this was a good opportunity to add to her resume.

“Exhibitions are a great way” to build a resume, she said. “What’s fortunate is that we have the Union gallery to do that.”



Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.