5
Thursday, April 1, 2021
GO! magazine — A&E in Northeast Oregon
EOU artists fi nd ‘a point of connection’ despite pandemic
LA GRANDE — Art Center East will
host an exhibit featuring recent artwork
made by Eastern Oregon University
students with a major or minor in art.
The exhibit will be on display from
April 2 through May 1. Featured art-
ists include Sophia Aimone, Kimberly
Baum, Dalton Mauzay, Jan Ng and
Dillon van Rensburg. Art Center East
exhibits are always free.
The annual EOU Junior Exhibition
at Art Center East marks a signifi -
cant step on the path of each student
involved. While this group is cohesive
in their shared academic experience,
the variety of their artistic processes
and distinct creative interests result
in a group exhibition that celebrates
individual expression.
As students enter this phase of their
studies, their unique style and perspec-
tive begins to emerge, even in the midst
of a global pandemic.
“This exhibit didn’t happen in 2020
due to COVID-19 closures — the fi rst of
many that were canceled or postponed
Art Center East/Contibuted Art
in order to keep our community safe,”
The 2021 EOU Junior Exhibit — “a point of connection” — is evidence that art always fi nds a way. The exhibit
said Sarah West, Art Center East’s com- showcases work made during the pandemic, exploring themes of internal and external worlds.
munity outreach coordinator, in a press
“After a year of stumbling around online trying
release.
Similarly, art making was signifi cantly im-
to reimagine making art with digital tools or in
“Life in 2020 could be pretty bleak at times, and pacted by pandemic restrictions, especially for
isolation, I think we all realize the privilege of
the abandonment of several ACE exhibits was one students who could no longer attend in-person
presenting creative work to the community,” said
instruction or access their campus studios.
way that reality hit home for me.”
Eastern Oregon University art professor, Susan
But art always fi nds a way, and these young
Murrell.
artists are a testament to that persistence.
“This group of students brought focus and
Spanning themes such as childhood memories,
physicality to their practices and we are so appre-
relationships and real and imagined environ-
ciative that others can experience it.”
ments, all of the artists in this exhibit used their
The 2021 EOU Junior Exhibition would not be
practice to explore points of connection between
possible without EOU’s ongoing partnership and
the interior experience and the outer world of
collaboration with Art Center East, according to
interaction and physicality.
the release, which continues to support artists at
That art — the product of months in pivot and
every stage of development and enrich Northeast
forced isolation — fi nally gets to step out into a
Oregon’s diverse arts community.
shared space and be seen.
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ABOUT ART CENTER EAST
Art Center East is located at 1006 Penn
Ave. in La Grande. Regular gallery
hours are Wednesday through Friday
from noon to 5 p.m. and Saturday from
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Gallery admission
is always free and open to the public.
Exhibits can also be viewed online at
www.artcentereast.org thanks to a
partnership with John J Howard Real
Estate.
Founded in 1977 as Eastern Oregon
Regional Arts Council, Art Center East
is a registered 501c3 not for profi t arts
services organization providing arts
learning opportunities and experiences
for rural schools in a 10-county service
area in Eastern Oregon, as well as
art classes, monthly art exhibits and
cultural events in its historic Carnegie
Library building in La Grande.
Art Center East also oversees the
Community Ensemble music program,
which hosts private music lessons for
children and adults, the Community
African Drumming group, and the
Grande Ronde Community Choir. The
Community Ensemble program is a
partnership between Art Center East
and Eastern Oregon University.
Art Center East programs are
supported by its members and funded
with donations and grants from
local sponsors as well as regional
and statewide foundations such as
the Oregon Arts Commission and
the Oregon Cultural Trust. For more
information, visit www.artcentereast.
org or call 541-624-2800.
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