Students presented their paintings, drawings and sculptures at the annual Student Art Show, which was held virtually through Facebook and Instagram by the Art department at Long Beach City College. The event was from May 6th to June 4th.
Due to the pandemic the show was held virtually, where many art students participated and showcased their artwork from home.
This has been the fourth art show that has been held virtually by the art department since the pandemic.
This year’s theme was, “Cafe Culture.” Every year students in the art department at LBCC come together and organize the annual art show where they showcase their most prized pieces such as sculptures, paintings and drawings.
“It is important for these annual student art shows to be held every semester, that way the art students have the chance to show off their pieces and demonstrate what they love doing the most,” said Trevor Norris, the organizer of the art show.
Norris said, “Even though we are not able to do the show in person which in my opinion is more exciting, I am still very glad we are able to do it online, so students are still able to enjoy the art made by their fellow classmates.”
The theme, “Cafe Culture,” came about because last year’s spring semester semester, faculty on campus chose the best student that presented at the art show that academic year, which determines the theme depending on what the student’s art piece is.
During normal cirmunstances, about 70-80 art pieces are shown at the art shows. However, since all of the events are virtual it’s been harder for some students to participate.
Kai Gonzales, a student at LBCC, has been participating in the art shows for about three years now since first attending. Gonzales is majoring in art, specifically sculpture, and has also been doing it as a hobby for a long time.
For this year’s art show, Gonzales made a sculpture and his piece was named, “Iron Out,” and said, “My piece ‘Iron Out’ is a large piece made entirely out of brown and white paper. The art piece is very fun and creative, it is mainly made out entirely of paper and it is crumbled to create different sculptures that can be interpreted in many ways.”
When asking Gonzales his opinion on the theme of this years art show, he said, “I feel it’s cool that they went around the theme of, ‘Cafe Culture,’ where it’s kind of like the atmosphere where you can grab some coffee with a mate, partner, colleague, etc. and just chat about the art that is displayed around you. I feel all the art in the art show has that feeling where it gives that cafe culture vibe.”
Students believe the Art department allows and helps students artistically express themselves. Students being able to express their work, even virtually, really shows the creativity and intuition the art community has to offer.