Valparaiso University students in the Art and Entertainment Administration course recently unveiled a new art gallery in Urschel Hall, home to the College of Business.
The gallery and its opening ceremony were planned and executed almost entirely by students in a class project that came with real-world experience.
“Working with deadlines, moving with all these different pieces, you really appreciate and understand what all goes into something like this,” said Sophia Hoogeven, digital media arts major, in a press release.
The project was a team effort between the Communication and Visual Arts department and the College of Business as part of an effort to update the interior of the College’s main building and enhance campus culture. Giving students the chance to take on the challenges of leadership and interdepartmental collaboration are part of the university’s five-year plan Uplift Valpo: Our Beacon for the Journey Forward.
To make the gallery a reality, the class had to navigate a variety of challenges. A call for art submissions was sent out to every declared art major and minor on campus, a selection committee had to be formed to see presentations and decisions had to be made alongside College of Business administrators regarding what pieces made it to the final gallery. Other tasks included finding funding, reaching out to alumni, presenting ideas to administrators and planning the December reception down to the catering.
“Because it’s the first time that something like this has happened, with a cross-college collaboration and taking space in a College that isn’t ours, we can tell people we’ve done something brand-new that we didn’t know we were getting into,” Parker Kelson said.
Another aspect students said made the project different is the approach Professor Aimee Tomasek took in guiding the class — an approach that made the experience feel less like a classroom, and more like a professional opportunity.
“Aimee treats us more as employees than students,” Maris Dodge said. “We executed everything with her as our mentor rather than her doing everything and us following. It’s given us a lot of real-world experience, even though we’re still on-campus, working with other offices and departments.”
