With the semester coming to a close, students and professors are gearing up for summer. And what better way to finish the semester than browsing leisurely, taking the time to appreciate music, acting and arts of all mediums? COD is hosting the Student Art and Design showcase on May 19, and all are welcome to attend.

The showcase will celebrate student success within the COD art program. From COD Jazz Ensemble performing to photography and graphic design portfolios and fashion design students modeling their work to improve actors, all disciplines are putting their best work into the showcase. Jackie Weaver, an associate professor of Art and co-chair of the Art program at COD, said the showcase is meant to unify the department and share one big night of celebration.

“A lot of individual events for the different arts areas,” Weaver said. “So we wanted to try to bring or arrange one night where everybody could come together and kind of celebrate all of the different departments.”

Madelene Przybysz, a COD Fine Arts student with a focus on Art Education, said the showcase is a chance for the department to publicly display just how great it is. 

“I feel like we definitely get to show off a little bit,” Przybysz said. “We have great faculty; we have great facilities for making and learning.” 

Gautam Wadhwa, an associate professor and chair of the Graphic Design department, agreed, adding that the showcase would also help expose the students to opportunities outside of the college. 

“We are (a) community college, and this helps us involve the community. It helps us promote our programs,” Wadhwa said. “It also invites prospective employers. Of course, it invites family and friends for students. So it is a celebration of our students.”

Eva Stevens, an assistant professor of Fashion Studies, said the showcase is a great example of the character of the MAC as a whole.

“The MAC is such a wealth of art,” Stevens said. “People come for its plays, its concerts and its art exhibits. But surrounding that are all sorts of departments that also have that same really strong art base. It’s nice to see the young people who are coming up into the art world, in whatever discipline they may be – photography, graphic art, dance, music, fashion.”

The showcase also allows COD to show how strong the art department is.

“It’s one thing to look at a program on a website,” said Weaver. “It’s another thing to be there in person in the space, looking at the work with opportunities to actually talk to students and professors about the work.”

Stevens said the showcase will help demystify the art program to outside viewers. 

“It’s kind of a window into the biggest kept secret in this area,” she said. “Because there’s so much happening in our department that no one knows about. Many people have no idea that we have a fashion program, or our patient program is as robust and rigorous as any of the first two years in a four-year institution or college.” 

The showcase is open to the public, and Stevens encouraged people to attend and take a break from everything happening in the world. 

“With all the hectic, chaotic and unrecognizable things happening in the world right now, to take out an hour of your time, and walk around a building to be able to see things that are fresh, new, alive and happy,” she said.

Wadhwa agreed.

“Come and get inspired,” he said.

The Student Art and Design Showcase is being hosted at 4:30 p.m. on May 19, at the MAC. The open house runs until 6:30 p.m. Afterwards, the MAC is hosting awards for both photography and graphic design. The photography awards run from 6:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. in the Belushi Performance Hall. The graphic designs awards run from 7:15 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. in the Belushi Performance Hall. For more information about the Student Art and Design Showcase, check out the MAC’s website. For more information about the MAC’s COVID-19 policy, check out their webpage here.