The Santa Monica College (SMC) Emeritus Art Gallery will unveil its SMC Emeritus Annual Student Art Exhibition 2021 Online — Part 1 starting April 22. This year, the group exhibition attracted so many participants that it will be presented in two parts at smc.edu/emeritusgallery. Part 1 will feature 80 works created by 41 student artists in SMC’s noncredit Emeritus program for older adults. (Details about Part 2, which opens May 27, will be released in early May.)
A free, live Zoom Virtual Launch Event for Part 1 of the exhibition will be held online from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 22. A link at smc.edu/emeritusgallery goes live at event time and takes guests directly to the exhibition’s opening reception.
To see the artworks online at any time after 5 p.m. on April 22, viewers may go to smc.edu/emeritusgallery and click the Emeritus Student Art Exhibition 2021 Online link, available 24 hours a day. The link takes viewers directly to the exhibition album on a Facebook page that is open to public viewing (Facebook account not necessary).
The opening reception will be hosted by Emeritus Associate Dean Dr. Scott Silverman and Emeritus Art Gallery Curator Jesse Benson, who will highlight and discuss a selection of individual artworks. Several of the exhibiting artists will also hold brief discussions about their work.
“While we were scrambling at this time last year to catch up to the minimums of virtual programming, this year’s Emeritus Student Art Exhibition is a thriving 2-part show featuring aspects that are only possible online,” said Benson. “Our newfound fluency with the format has allowed for the exhibiting of amazing past works, large-scale objects, offsite installations, videos, and other types of gestures too difficult to physically accommodate in the live gallery. The 2021 Student Art Exhibition is another testament to the achievement, energy, and malleability of our incredible student body.”
“We can’t yet gather in person to appreciate the wonderful art produced by our Emeritus students during trying times,” said Silverman, “but this exhibition gives Emeritus and our students a chance to share their art to a broader audience, using the online platform to expand beyond the confines of the Gallery.”
SMC’s widely praised Emeritus program — founded by Santa Monica College in 1975 as a noncredit program to serve the lifelong learning interests of older adults — offers more than 120 noncredit adult education classes and special programs that serve more than 3,000 students each year.
More information is available by visiting smc.edu/emeritusgallery or calling 310-434-4306.
Submitted by Grace Smith
