Every year, the NC State College of Design hosts the Art + Design Senior Show. The showcase aims to demonstrate the work and talent of the class of 2019’s art and design students. This year’s show features the work of 27 students, with each individual coming from a different discipline, have worked to plan, design and host an exhibition at the end of the fall semester.
The opening ceremony for the show took place last Saturday, Dec. 8, in the African American Cultural Center in Witherspoon.
Jade Dickinson, a fifth-year studying art and design, presented her work at the show.
“A lot of people are really trying to represent who they are as a designer or an artist right now,” Dickinson said. “It’s basically a culmination of everything, and it’s all of us being presented together.”
Samantha Bratzke, a fourth-year studying art and design, also exhibited her work at the event.
“It’s showcasing what we feel is our most impressive and innovative work to the public, to educate on design and to share we worked on.” Bratzke said.
The senior show also gives students a chance to work on branding and their professional skills.
Kathleen Rieder, an associate professor of art and design and coordinator of the design studies program, helped orchestrate the event.
“They organize their work, they work on a resume, they work on their website, they work on self-branding,” Rieder said. “So in a way, they can work on it even more their last semester.”
Additionally, the showcase is completely student run.
“It’s a lot of work,” Dickinson said. “We had to raise funds, we had to have an art print sale fundraiser, but it is really rewarding.”
The event features each student’s portfolio and artist statement, along with a business card. It also covers all concentrations of the art and design program, including fibers, animation and illustration.
“Even within fibers, there’s so many different focuses going on,” Bratzke said. “There’s fiber art, Art2Wear, fashion, and on top of that we also have illustration. There’s going to be comic books, animation, posters; really creative stuff.”
Dickinson spoke about her work being featured in the showcase.
“My big piece that I am really excited to show is, it’s just a three-page comic,” Dickinson said. “It’s autobiographical about a time where me and my friends went into a storm drain over by Stanhope. [I also] have some illustrated spreads. One is an adaptation of an Aesop fable, and then another one is part of an adaptation of ‘The Goose Girl,’ which is a Grimm fairy tale.”
A few of the seniors, including Bratzke, will also be presenting their work at the upcoming Art2Wear show next semester.
“I’m designing a line for Art2Wear, which is in April, and this semester I worked on the concept development and research inspiration, because it’s centered around sustainability,” Bratzke said. “So, I’m presenting the first two pieces that I created and the prospect for the line.”
Art and design is a relatively small major where many of the students have been working together for all four years.
“I think what’s really interesting about art and design and what makes it so fascinating is that we all have an underlying thread that we share,” Bratzke said. “We’re all visual storytellers; we are all makers in some way, shape or form. Everyone is so talented and excited to share with the public. We’re all deep thinkers. We’re kind of all tied in with these different design things, bases that we share, but we express them in such different ways.”
The showcase will be on display in Witherspoon Student Center though Dec 16.
The Art + Design Senior Show art gallery will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through Sunday, Dec. 16 on the 2nd floor of Witherspoon Student Center in the African American Cultural Center.
