Students may have been walking by the GCC Art Gallery for years without noticing it, but Caryl St. Ama wants to change that

The art gallery opened its doors yesterday to the public. The show consists of student artists that have submitted their work to St. Ama, who is this year’s gallery director.

Rebecca Campbell, a local artist, chose the pieces that will be on exhibit until June 4.

The artworks consist of paintings, drawings, photography and sculptures.

Campbell is a local artist who received the D’arcy Hayman Award, the Werner Hirsch Drawing Award and the Feitelson Arts Foundation Award.

“Having a visiting artist come and jury the students show is a new thing,” St. Ama said.

“We got a grant from ASGCC, which was very generous, so I want to push these new things into the community.”

There will be a reception tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. in the art gallery to celebrate the selected artists and their peices.

“It’s like an art gala,” St. Ama said. There will also be a raffle for a huge canvas built by Kyla Hansen. The materials to make the canvas cost $158 and each raffle ticket is $1. Students can purchase tickets from Hansen in AA112b.

The raffle will be held at the reception along with scholarship announcements for advanced and transferring artists. These scholarships are offered every year based on the student’s full portfolio.

The college has been buzzing with news about GCC’s new exhibit. Teachers are encouraging students to visit the gallery.

“The community benefits from visiting the gallery because artists generally address contemporary issues of their time with a fresh, creative and inventive perspective,” said Mahara Sinclaire, a professor of visual and performing arts.

“Art provides a cathartic, edifying, and thought-provoking experience, helping to cultivate an empathetic and educated public discourse.”

Sinclaire added that the gallery is a great way for art students to explore the presentation of artwork.

“They can observe how the work is framed, and how the show was hung. These lessons better prepare the student for the eventual exhibition of their own work,” said Sinclaire.

Raul Espinosa, 33, is a graphic design student at GCC. He says that being an art student doesn’t mean he has already seen every art student’s potential. The gallery is a way for him to get to know what kind of artists roam the GCC campus .

“Student art is very expressive, and to see other people express themselves is seeing who they really are,” said Espinosa.

“There are a lot of people that pass by that you don’t think twice about, but when you see someone’s [art] work you get to know them a lot more than just the surface,” St. Ama said.

“The student exhibit is one of our most popular because it’s your peers that aren’t art students who are usually amazed,” St. Ama said.

“They say ‘Wow somebody my age did that?’ and so we get a lot of people through the gallery.”

“I want the students to feel like when they walk by the gallery there’s always something exciting for them to come in and see,” St. Ama said.

“I want the community to think that this is a place for them.”

St. Ama said that Roger Dicks, the previous gallery director, got the community’s involvement and she hopes to continue this.

“I want it to be an exciting place, with something different and new each time,” St. Ama said.

The next event will be the faculty exhibit in the summer.