Senior art and design majors have begun conducting their art shows after months of preparation.

Throughout the spring semester, eight senior shows will take place – six at the Shore Gallery and two at the Center for Contemporary Art.

The senior show is a graduation requirement for all art and design majors.

At the end of the fall semester, students were assigned groups and dates for their shows. Each group then selected their own theme and show name.

Arlene Kasselman, administrative coordinator of the Department of Art and Design, said that in most cases, the attendance at the senior shows surpasses 50 people.

“It means so much to students because it is a showcase of the work they’ve been doing throughout their university career,” Kasselman said. “It’s a great opportunity for friends and family to see their work.”

Kasselman said the fine art students who do a senior exhibition at the Center for Contemporary Art tie their work into their senior exhibition course. Throughout the course, students go through the process of writing and defending an artist’s statement.

FORGED, the first senior art showcase of 2019 in the Shore Gallery

The interior design, graphic design and art education majors showcase their work in the Shore Gallery without being graded.

The first senior art showcase of the spring semester, FORGED, showcased the work of Alma Nava, senior art major from Fort Worth; Timothy Yerger, senior art major from Amarillo; Donelle Johnson, senior graphic design and advertising major from McKinney; Gabbie Tiner, senior art major from Plano and McClane Duffin, senior art major from Cedar Creek.

Nava said the theme was chosen to express how ACU molded each individual in the group into who they are today.

“We wanted to show people–mostly younger art students–that it doesn’t matter where you start, it only matters where you’re going,” Nava said.

Nava said the group acknowledges the progression of their work through each year of their college careers.

“When we first started our design classes, our work was horrible and we admit to it,” Nava said. “However, we have come a long way together, and everyone can and will make it to that day where your work is displayed on the walls of the gallery as you prepare to head into the real world.”

Nava said the realization of the future hit the group members almost immediately following their show.

“We have come to so many art shows in the gallery so when we stood in the center of the room at 1 a.m. on Friday it clicked,” Nava said. “It is now our work on these walls…this is it–we’re graduating.”

The group started preparing for the show as soon as they were assigned dates. They met before winter break and decided on a theme, a plan for advertising and how they were going to distribute the workload so they could begin working on it as soon as they returned from the break.

Some of the group members only went home for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in order to complete all of the work necessary.

“I was so happy with my team because each member put forth so much effort,” Nava said. “We pushed each other and kept each other on our toes when pieces needed to be printed and in the gallery.”

“We helped each other frame and put things together and worked long nights together,” Nava said. “It was a wonderful team effort.”