Graduating students from the Honours Studio course (VISA 4F06) have been busy all semester creating their pieces for the two-part Brock University Department of Visual Arts Honours Exhibition.

Students were mentored by Rodman Hall Art Centre gallery staff and Visual Arts professors Donna Szoke, Shawn Serfas, Derek Knight and Donna Akrey. The first instalment of the honours exhibition: Just Resting My Eyes is currently on display at Rodman Hall and features work from students Denise Apostolatos, Victoria Morinello, Jill Newman, Jacob Primeau and Aaron Thompson. Szoke says these honours exhibitions are vital to students’ education in the Brock Visual Arts program.

“The nature, purpose and intended outcome of Honours Studio is that once the students graduate from the art program, they become practising artists. Art making, as a practice of research-creation, is inherently experiential learning,” says Szoke.

The collaboration with the professional team at Rodman Hall is an essential learning experience for Brock Visual Arts students. Akrey says the staff’s consultation with each student teaches them the importance of the entire process of art making and exhibiting, and the importance of their individual work in a collaborative event.

Serfas adds that the importance of having Rodman Hall embedded into the Bachelor of Arts program is that “it gives our students a distinctive experiential learning opportunity.”

Knight says that the audience can expect to see “broad cultural themes with emphasis on the impact of mass media, environmental or social issues” throughout the work created by these honours students in this two-part exhibit.

The second instalment, Turnin’ This Car Around, is set to be exhibited from Saturday, April 14 to Sunday, April 29, with the opening reception on Friday, April 13 from 7 to 9 p.m. The exhibit will feature pieces by Rachel Dove, Lauren Mucciarone, Victoria Reid, Brittany Thomas-Clapp and Lorraine Zandvliet.