USE 2020

Annual Undergraduate Student Exhibition

Each year, the annual undergraduate exhibition aims to represent the diverse art practices and research interests occurring within the Faculty of Fine Arts. Collaborative at its core, this interdisciplinary initiative culminates in an exhibition, publication, and performance event, and combines the efforts of many students, staff, and faculty members. Writers from the Department of Art History create essays about the exhibited artworks, which are featured in a catalogue created by design students. Leading up to the exhibition, the exhibited artists also collaborate with students from the Department of Contemporary Dance to create a set of performances featured throughout the exhibition. Ultimately, the undergraduate student exhibition aims to foster community among students, while encouraging them to work together through different practices and thought processes.

This year’s title, Intentional Community, reflects a feeling that persists through every artwork that was selected by the jury. This sentiment is the desire to take part in a community designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and cooperation by means of transformative self-critique. The pieces reveal inquiries into the construction of identity and the impact of humankind on our planet, as well as questions surrounding cultural diversity, gender and aesthetics. Mindful of current issues, the artists compel viewers to confront their own proclivities and address challenging topics.

This project involves the year-long efforts of many. We are grateful to our many collaborators and for the continued support of university and student organizations that make this project possible, and endlessly rewarding.

- Catherine Dechamps-Montpetit, Exhibition Coordinator