NCCU Department of Art Student Works
December 10, 2021 – February 28, 2022
Semans Gallery
Third Friday Receptions,
6-8PM, Dec. 17, 2021 & Jan. 21, 2022
We are pleased to announce new hours to view exhibits in the Durham Arts Council building. Starting Thursday, Jan. 20 guests may view exhibits in the Durham Arts Council and Durham Art Guild from 11 am – 5 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. No appointment sign up is required. Guests will be screened before entering the DAC building and masks are required.
Since 1910 North Carolina Central University has been an important institution not only locally but throughout the state and the country. The motto of the university is “truth and Service’ as well as providing an Afro-centric education for all those that attend. Within the Department of Art we encourage students to explore the idea self and their place in society as a whole. Many of these revelations will come out through their artistic statements whether graphic designers, studio artists or concentrating in our newly formed Animation and Interactive Media classes.
Students’ personal experiences may manifest themselves in a layout for an ad campaign, the characters they develop for an animated short or how they design work in the studio concentration. The work in this collection covers all the areas the Department of Art focusses. The show has quite a few figurative works, in particularly self portraits. The young artists have used various media to express how they view themselves and their place in the social structure of home, school and society. Any portrait is an exploration of the sitter’s personality and even more so when painting one’s self. Even when creating characters for animation the students have embedded the images with personal and societal symbols.
The works that are not strictly figurative are also influenced by the students’ sense of culture and the introduction of many African and African American influences in art that are not readily available in may mainstream institutions.
The Department of Art is helping students discover the rich African American cultural history that has influenced and shaped the arts in the United States. These young artists are discovering their place in society and seeing how the Arts and Humanities are the recorders of history and culture. Many of these students are already becoming influencers and changing their worlds.
The public is invited to view NCCU Department of Art Student Works during our January Third Friday Durham reception. Stop by DAC from 6-8pm on Friday, January 21, 2022 for this community arts event!
