Area high school students display artwork at Hartwick College

Vicky Klukkert, The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y.
·3 min read

Jan. 13—Students from seven high schools will have their artwork displayed in the Foreman Gallery at Hartwick College until Jan. 27.

Hartwick College Gallery and Exhibitions Coordinator Sydney Sheehan spent several days hanging pieces and setting up display stands throughout the gallery to showcase several mediums of artwork.

"I am truly impressed by the talent of these students," Sheehan said. "I have spent hours installing the works and still see something new."

Foreman Gallery is in the Anderson Center for the Arts building on campus and boasts an impressive amount of space, Sheehan said. The gallery hosts student displays throughout the school year, a juried display, the high school display, as well as artwork from nationally known artists, she said.

Sheehan said she sent emails to area art teachers asking for submissions that fit the show's theme of "[Un]expected." Art teachers from Cherry Valley-Springfield, Bainbridge-Guilford, Shaker, Guilderland, Oxford Academy and Bethlehem high schools responded and picked artwork by their students to submit. Pieces include oil and watercolor paintings, colored and black-and-white pencil and charcoal drawings, collages, ceramics, digital art and a paper piece.

The exhibit is one of the larger ones the gallery has held for high school students in a few years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sheehan said. With COVID-19 restrictions shutting down classrooms and studio space, "it's nice to see more pieces this year," she said. "We had nine pieces last year."

Students who have pieces in the gallery will be able to put on their resume they participated in a regional exhibition. "This is a great way for them to build their resume," she said.

The students who have pieces in the exhibit and students from other schools who have signed up will visit the college on Jan. 27, for a tour of the different studios on campus and will get lunch. "The tours of the studios take 45 minutes," she said. Hartwick College has ceramics, glass blowing, painting, drawing, print making, digital, sculpture, paper making, photography and fabrication lab studios on campus. "The fab lab is a stand alone studio that works with other studios providing 3D printing, vinyl and engraving services," she said.

Students interested in attending the college have gotten their artwork in front of faculty members by exhibiting their work, she said. Many faculty members have toured the exhibit and will be able to talk to the visiting students about their works. The tour will also discuss what opportunities Oneonta and Central New York have and show prospective students the "immense amount of talent that is around here," she said.

Another reason why the student exhibit may have more entrants is Hartwick College's new HartLand Promise, Sheehan said. "I think the HartLand Promise is a huge game changer," she said.

Through the HartLand Promise, which will begin in the fall of 2023-24, eligible Hartwick students will pay $8,775 in tuition and fees to attend the college. To be eligible, students must live in the following counties: Otsego, Chenango, Delaware, Herkimer, Madison, Montgomery, Oneida or Schoharie; must be accepted as full-time, first-time Hartwick students taking 12 credits; and must live on campus.

While some students displaying artwork don't qualify for the program, several students do, Sheehan said.

The exhibit is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and from noon to 7 p.m. Saturday.

Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.