Visual art at Montgomery County Community College is alive and well, especially in the face of a global pandemic.

Due to the closure of all College facilities, the 2020 MCCC Annual Student Exhibition is being held via the online art gallery Behance. Eighty-three pieces are on display by more than 30 student artists including paintings, prints, drawings, ceramics, 3D pieces, design work and video.

“For 53 years at Central Campus in Blue Bell and 15 years at West Campus in Pottstown, our annual spring exhibits have displayed the hard work and talents of our art students,” said Galleries Director Patrick Rodgers. “Thanks to the fortitude of our students and the constant support and encouragement of the Art Department faculty, we're able to continue that tradition this year, albeit in an online format.”

The gallery is available for the public to view anytime through December. Those without the link to the website can search “MCCC Art Galleries” or “Art Barn” on Behance.net. As in the past, this year’s exhibit also serves as an art sale, as many pieces are available for purchase, which supports student talent.

While many of the pieces on display were created during the fall semester, or the first half of the spring semester, Rodgers said some were produced during, and inspired by, the statewide state-at-home order following the COVID-19 outbreak in March.

“We do these exhibits to encompass the development of students’ talents throughout the year, which includes the fall and spring. Last fall students were able to take advantage of the College’s resources and spaces, including its studio,” said Rodgers. “However because of the pandemic they don’t have all of those resources at home.

“Once we moved to an online realm, our faculty got very creative with the types of projects that were possible at home, with materials that are readily available. They encouraged students to think about home-based, quarantine projects. There were some students who felt their projects weren’t finished or didn’t belong in the show. I wanted to tell them that they did.”

The juror for this year’s exhibition was Jordan Artim, a painter and admissions counselor at the Tyler School of Art at Temple University. He selected the winning pieces for different categories. “It was kind of him to do this on relatively short notice and with a lot of changes to the format of the show,” said Rodgers, who called Artim an astute juror. “We’re lucky to have him do this for our students.”

Among the entries selected was a print called “Getting Ready to Zoom” by student artist Francesca Santini. Using oil paints and collage elements allowed her to make a one-of-a-kind print without needing the College’s printing press, Rodgers explained. Artists can use hand pressure or other objects to create an image, making it an easy process to do from home.

In Santini’s modernist image, Rodgers said, “I initially interpreted the character as looking conflicted and anxious, something we’re all feeling working from home with distractions and Zoom fatigue,” he said. But Santini’s image captures more than that.  According to the artist, “It is meant to represent the feeling of loss I experienced due to lack of social interactions, and how I would ‘come to life’ twice a week in the anticipation of my online History of Graphic design class, which was conducted on Zoom,” Rodgers said. “I’m glad it won the award. It captures a range of emotions people are feeling.”

Rodgers also mentioned two pieces of environmental art. The first was a photograph of a stone arch created by student artist Jared Albany. The project was created as part of a ceramics assignment to use natural materials in an artistic way as inspired by artist Andy Goldsworthy.

The other piece was a flower arrangement called “Nature Installation” by student artist Asia Williams, who also used Goldsworthy’s ideas about form to plan a sculpture outside. She ran into problems with wind, however, causing her to improvise adjustments, which she diligently explained in an accompanying Power Point presentation.

“Nature forced her to replan her sculpture as she was doing it,” said Rodgers. “She thought out every step of this. It’s very creative, even if it’s relatively small.”

For Rodgers, the talent on display in this year’s exhibit is among the best it’s ever been, and he encourages everyone to visit the virtual gallery.

“I hope you can get some inspiration from these pieces,” he said. “And please feel free to share the site, leave comments and otherwise continue to promote our students' work.”