ArtsWorcester’s 20th Annual College Show, which is at the Davis Art Gallery, 44 Portland St., Worcester, through April 21, is “the exhibition that just never quits, or maybe we just can’t quit it ourselves,” said Juliet Feibel, ArtsWorcester executive director.
Through funding challenges and college department budget cuts over the years, “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought, well, that’s it for the College Show,” Feibel said. More recently there was the pandemic and the show was virtual for two years. “It came roaring back in real life last year, and I think this year’s show is even better,” Feibel said. “It’s so much joy and so much talent.” An opening reception was well attended.
Besides being at the Davis Art Gallery, the College Show can also be viewed online. From more than 230 submissions, the show’s juror, Chloe Zaug, associate director of the MassArt Art Museum, selected 71 works by 58 artists. Students from 10 Massachusetts institutions have work on display.
‘The grind of being a student’
They include Ethan Doyle, a senior majoring in computer science at Clark University; Rebecca (Becky) Maher, a junior majoring in communications at Worcester State University; and Gabriella Trznadel, a senior with a double major in studio art and chemistry at the College of the Holy Cross.
Doyle’s selected work is a black and white photograph titled “Classroom” in which we see the silhouette back of a person seated in an otherwise empty classroom as the camera faces a large wide and tall window with trees outside which almost seem to be beckoning.
Doyle, who is from Arlington, Virginia, said “I was experimenting with alternative methods of creating images. Through the composition and presence of the figure, I was hoping to capture the grind of being a student.”
It’s his first college show. “I was curious how my work would be seen by people outside of Clark. I don’t think that I was nervous, but rather curious and excited by the opportunity. I certainly have gained more confidence to enter other college shows and hope to submit my work to future shows,” Doyle said.
Maher’s “Sanctity” is a color photograph of a pomegranate cut open and bathed in red light. “To me, ‘Sanctity’ was more about experimenting with different styles of photography and different subjects,” Maher said. A pomegranate “alludes to the fruit being an ancient symbol of fertility and the underworld, being associated with many Greek goddesses such as Persephone and Hera. I hope that the viewer feels a sense of calm when looking at ‘Sanctity.'”
This is also Maher’s first college show. “When taking intro to digital photography last semester, my professor introduced us to ArtsWorcester and I was immediately intrigued … and thought ‘why not? I have nothing to lose.'”
‘I was ecstatic and so proud’
Maher, who is from Holden, added, “When I found out one of my pieces got in, I was ecstatic and so proud, it absolutely gave me more confidence to enter future exhibitions.”
Trznadel’s “Then and Now” is a charcoal drawing that’s like a photographic montage. Indeed, “I depict family photos of myself with my grandparents (my Babcia and Dziadziu), who really encouraged my interest in art from a very young age. By drawing my present day self back into these photographs, I am reflecting and appreciating them,” said Trznadel, who is from Chicopee.
Trznadel had a work selected for at last year’s College Show, something she said gave her a lot of confidence. “Being part of this exhibition was particularly exciting to me — I had such a personal piece in the show this year and I was really proud to stand beside it. It was also really inspiring to talk with other students from different schools and learn about their artwork. We were finding similarities in theme, subject matter, medium … it was really great,” Trznadel said.
‘Richly navigating their creative practice’
Zaug was impressed with what she saw. “The strength of submissions for the 20th ArtsWorcester College Show was inspiring, with careful and deep consideration of today’s most pressing issues,” Zaug said in a statement. “Working in a wide range of media, today’s college students are richly navigating their creative practice through themes of identity and self, sense of place, and materiality.”
“The College Show began as a partnership with the now-dissolved Consortium of Worcester Colleges, which had provided most of its funding. It’s now a partnership between ArtsWorcester and the area colleges themselves,” Feibel said. “The colleges hold institutional memberships, which allows all their students to become ArtsWorcester artist members, and, of course, to submit work for the College Show.”
‘A big community event’
This year there is also artwork from a few students who attend schools outside the immediate Worcester area. “We had begun to get inquiries from elsewhere in Massachusetts, and decided it was more important for us to have young artists get their start in the City of Worcester than it was for us to be restrictive or exclusive. It’s a small number, though, and it’s clear that the studio art departments of Worcester-area colleges can more than hold their own against fancier art schools.”
The show has become a big community event, Feibel said.
“When else do you get to hear artists cheered for like athletes? The College Show keeps ArtsWorcester fresh, with new ideas coming in every year, and there’s always so much energy and excitement. It’s really the only event at which you can actually get a sense of Worcester as a college town, and see the pride students and alums take in their home institutions,” she said.
“One thing people always enjoy is seeing the students’ majors or degree programs on the artwork labels. Sure, some of them are studio art majors, but a lot of them are studying engineering, or psychology, or computer science. Artists are everywhere,” Feibel said.
Certainly Doyle, Maher and Trznadel intend to keep art in their lives, regardless of their vocations.
“Photography has been an important part of my life since elementary school. I began learning on my own, sought out mentors and took as many classes as I could.,” Doyle said. “I took my first official photography class in 8th grade, and since then have not gone a year without taking some sort of photography class. As I look toward my future, I see photography and art as a significant hobby. After working as a photo intern and doing some freelance work, I found that I prefer to work on my own time and on my own projects. My professional interests lay elsewhere.”
‘Art has always been a part of my life’
As for what he has experienced of the arts scene in Worcester, Doyle said, “I am just becoming aware of the arts scene in Worcester. But from my experience so far Worcester has a great arts scene and I met so many amazing people at the Arts Worcester Reception. I am excited to be a part of it.”
Similarly, Maher said, “I think Worcester has a pretty cool art scene. Growing up just outside of Worcester, I always associated the city with art because of the Worcester Art Museum. I’ve noticed it started to really grow the past few years, especially with new murals around the city. Worcester is becoming more colorful and more expressive and I love it. I’m excited to see where it will go in the future.”
As for her own journey with art, “I’ve always been a really creative person and have incorporated art into my life from a young age, mostly in painting, drawing and writing,” Maher said. “Photography is a fairly new art form to me, I really started getting into it in the last year or so. I think I’ll be intertwined with art for the rest of my life, probably in a personal way more than professional. I use it to relax and unwind, and to express my creative mind. Though it would be amazing if I could incorporate art into whatever I’m professionally doing in the future.”
Trznadel said, “Art has always been a part of my life since I can remember. I have so many memories of drawing from my childhood. I have always known that it is something I want in my life in some form. Double majoring in both chemistry and art, I’ve needed art to provide balance in my life. As a studio art major, I hope to use art in my everyday life and work somewhere in the field. In an ideal world, I would be a working artist.”
Meanwhile, “I’ve really enjoyed interacting with the Worcester art scene and being exposed to new art through my classes, visiting local exhibitions, going to artist talks, and seeing murals around the city,” she said.
Prize winners
Zaug awarded three prize winners and four honorable mentions.
Juror’s Prizes (in alphabetical order): Heba Abdi (Assumption University ’24), “So Much Grief, So Much Light”; Maria Cazzato (School of the Museum of Fine Arts ’26), “Bathroom Penance”; Carlos Crespo (Quinsigamond Community College ’25), “Silver, Sword, and Stone.”
Honorable Mentions: Anna DeMetrick (Massachusetts College of Art and Design ’26) “, and My Companion”; Luke LeMond (College of the Holy Cross ’25), “alwayshungry”; Eleanor Rueffer (Clark University ’24), “Zooming In”; Mason Terra (Bridgewater State University ’24), “Yellow.”Youth Committee Prize (awarded by Worcester Public High School students): Eve Deleon (Clark University ’24), “Entrelazadas”; Wynne Dromey (Clark University ’25), “Embrace.”Youth Committee Honorable Mention: Maria Cazzato (School of the Museum of Fine Arts ’26), “Bathroom Penance.”
Also from ArtsWorcester
ArtsWorcester is also currently presenting “Feast,” an exhibition in partnership with the Fitchburg Art Museum.
Over one hundred artists have shared works all relating to food and eating, in media from oil paint to reclaimed fast food wrappers. “Feast” is the twelfth annual “Call and Response” collaboration between ArtsWorcester and the Fitchburg Art Museum. “Feast” began with a loan of ten food-themed artworks from the Fitchburg Art Museum’s permanent collection, to which ArtsWorcester artist members responded with a work of their own. “Feast” will be on view at ArtsWorcester, 44 Portland St.. and on its website through April 21.
ArtsWorcester’s 20th Annual College Show
When: Through April 21
Where: Davis Art Gallery, located on the third floor of the Printers Building, 44 Portland St., Worcester, and online
How much: Free. Public gallery hours run Thursdays through Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. artsworcester.org
