This week, for the first time ever, undergraduate artists and designers at MU are competing in the Undergraduate Visual Art & Design Showcase for thousands of dollars in prize money to help fund their careers.
The event will be open until Friday in Jesse Hall and is intended to become an annual occurrence.
Respected fish netting artist Janet Echelman, whose work has been featured at events such as the Vancouver Olympics and in cities across the globe, gave the keynote address. She spoke about her artwork, both domestic and abroad, as well as the impact that public art can have on congested cities.
“Public art can bring people together across all kinds of divides, because if art can give us an authentic human experience in the public realm, we want to speak about it,” Echelman says in an email.
Students were nominated by their professors in the School of Journalism and the College of Arts and Sciences to participate and compete for a total of $10,000 in prize money for professional development to “enhance their educational and professional experiences in the area of visual art & design appropriate to their career plans,” according to the event’s website.
Most of the pieces were done as school projects, ranging across various mediums. The showcase featured photography, sculpture, architecture, advertising campaigns, clothing and costume design, lighting design, video and paintings.
Read and listen to The Maneater’s project on the Undergraduate Visual Art & Design Showcase [here.](https://www.themaneater.com/special-sections/show-me-talent/)
