New art exhibit opens, capturing pandemic through student photography
Editor’s Note: Due to the Campus Pause, the exhibit is closed until Feb. 15. It hopes to open again Feb. 16-18. There is an online version sharing the photos happening on Instagram @ Salve Art.
The Dorrance H. Hamilton Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of “Art in the Age of Pandemic: A Salve Student Photo Project,” which is open now through Feb. 18.
An online reception for “Art in the Age of Pandemic” will take place on Thursday, Feb. 4, at 6:00 p.m. Anyone interested in joining the reception is asked to contact Ernest Jolicoeur, director of the Hamilton Gallery, at ernest.jolicoeur@salve.edu for a link.
” ‘Art in the Age of Pandemic’ articulates the impact of the pandemic from our students’ point of view,” said Jolicoeur. “It’s about the challenges facing our community, the transformation of the college experience and the resilience of youth.”
During the fall of 2020, students taking courses in the Department of Art and Art History were invited to document their everyday experience of the pandemic. A group of 72 students, both majors and non-majors studying in the visual arts, submitted over 700 images for review. From this collection, nearly 250 photographs were printed and composed into large-scale grids.
“We really wanted to showcase the influence social media has had on our view of the pandemic, which is why we chose to place everything in a sort of grid system, similar to how someone would view photos on different social media platforms,” said Grace E. Parenti ’22, a student intern on this project. “There’s also the sense of togetherness and again that community aspect. We each have had our own unique experience with the pandemic, yet we are living through it and sharing those experiences together.”
Many of these images archive the proliferation of signage and the omnipresence of face masks. Others capture the moments of heartbreaking difficulty and enduring connectedness that have shaped students’ daily lives during such a chaotic moment in history.
“The goal of this project was to let our students know that even though they might be socially distanced and physically isolated, that they are not alone,” said Anthony F. Mangieri, chairperson of Art and Art History. “That we are part of a larger university community and art can help to bring us together. By documenting and sharing our experiences through these photos, Ernie and I hoped to strengthen a sense of community and shared experience, and to instill hope for better times in the near future.”
The Dorrance H. Hamilton Gallery is handicap accessible. Due to the pandemic, its exhibits are open exclusively to the Salve Regina community on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Wednesdays and Fridays from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The gallery is currently closed on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.
