In the 2022-2023 academic year, the UCF Art Gallery acted as a catalyst for visual arts experiences, education and engagement in the community with over 8,229 in-person visitors. It provided a framework for intellectual and creative inquiry, fostering dialogue and exploration. Throughout the year, the gallery hosted 7 exhibitions and a variety of programming, both in person and online, that not only examined cultural and social contexts but also actively supported contemporary art practices.
In Fall 2022, the South Arts Southern Prize & State Fellows Exhibition presented the work from the nine 2021 fellowship recipients, Tameca Cole (Alabama), Raheleh Filsoofi (Tennessee), Joyce Garner (Kentucky), Myra Greene (Georgia), Jewel Ham (North Carolina), Ming Ying Hong (Mississippi), Keith Calhoun & Chandra McCormick (Louisiana), Marielle Plaisir (Florida) and Fletcher Williams III (South Carolina), from each state in the South Arts Region. Launched in 2017, the South Arts Southern Prize & State Fellows project supports some of the best contemporary art in the American South.
Florida’s Marielle Plaisir won the Southern Prize, receiving another $25,000. Plaisir came to UCF for an artist talk, presented by the 2022 Dorothy M. Gillespie Visiting Artist series.
The Fall semester finished with the Mimesis: Fall 2022 BFA Exhibition, which provided the opportunity for senior undergraduate students specializing in book arts, ceramics, drawing, experimental animation, illustration, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture to share their research and artistic practice.
Spring 2023 began with the 2023 SVAD Faculty Exhibition, a dynamic exhibition of artworks by the faculty of the UCF School of Visual Arts and Design. These professional artists have received both national and international recognition for their engaging and thought-provoking works. The exhibition showcases a wide range of traditional and contemporary media and processes including animation, drawing, digital art, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture.
Two Art History Lectures were presented by SVAD faculty Ilenia Colón Mendoza and Keri Watson. Also, two Faculty Panel Discussions were held, the first with Chuck Abraham, Keith Kovach, Jason Burrell and Jim Casey and the second with Anthony Mancuso Rob Reedy, Ashley Taylor and K-J Mathieson.
Then, (Dis)comfort: 2023 MFA Exhibition navigated constructed human experiences, environments, and practices meant to soothe the existential discomfort integral to the lived experience. This exhibition showcased the thesis work of three Master of Fine Arts candidates in the Studio Art & Design MFA track at the UCF School of Visual Arts and Design.
Midnight Shift: Spring 2023 BFA Exhibition I provided the opportunity for senior undergraduate students specializing in book arts, ceramics, drawing, illustration, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture to share their research and artistic practice.
Finally, the 2022-2023 academic year concluded with the Odyssey: Spring 2023 BFA Exhibition II, which provided the opportunity for senior undergraduate students specializing in experimental animation to share their research and artistic practice.