Nightingale Gallery finishes the year with student art awards

Nightingale Gallery finishes the year with student art awards

April 28, 2022 LA GRANDE, Ore. – Take a look into the realm of Eastern Oregon University student art with Oregon artist and art juror Bean Gilsdorf this May.

EOU’s Nightingale Gallery will close out its 2021-22 exhibition season with the annual All-Campus Juried Student Exhibition. The exhibit features work by EOU students from a variety of disciplines and monetary awards for selected student pieces.  

“It’s the All-Campus Juried Student Exhibition, so any currently enrolled students can submit pieces. They don’t have to be art majors or minors, and the art could have been made at home and have nothing to do with EOU,” said Gallery Director Cory Peeke. 

The juror this year is Oregon artist and writer Bean Gilsdorf. Gilsdorf’s visual work mines the relationship between historical images, the iconography of power, and the ways in which representations influence cultural values. Her projects have been exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara, the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, and the American Textile History Museum, as well as exhibition spaces in Poland, England, Italy, China, and South Africa. 

In her writing, Gilsdorf frequently addresses issues connected to appropriation art, feminism, and the effects of socioeconomic conditions on artistic practices. Her reviews and essays have been included in publications such as Artforum, Art in America, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. Gilsdorf is the recipient of numerous awards, including an Andy Warhol Foundation for the Arts Writers Grant and two Fulbright Fellowships. 

“Last year because of COVID we weren’t having people visit campus from off-campus so we didn’t have a juror and the art program juried it themselves. Usually we invite a dignitary of some prominence. She’ll jury the show, but then she’ll also do critiques with upper division art majors one-on-one about their artwork. So it’s a way for our students to get feedback on their work,” Peeke said.

In addition to selecting works to include in the exhibit, Gilsdorf will select several works to be recognized with monetary awards. In addition to the juror’s awards, EOU faculty will present the 12th annual Kathelene Galloway Memorial Scholarship and 13th annual Joseph Dickerson Memorial Award. 

The Kathelene Galloway Memorial Scholarship is a $1000 award presented to a sophomore or junior level Art major who exhibits exemplary technical and conceptual skill. The award is made in memory of Kathelene Galloway who was a professor of Printmaking and Drawing at EOU. Galloway, who passed away suddenly in December of 2009.

“She was a passionate advocate for her students, art, artists and EOU. She lived to share knowledge and the wonder that comes with discovery. Galloway exemplified the excellence to which we encourage our students to endeavor,” Peeke said. 

The Joseph Dickerson Memorial Award is in memory of Joe Dickerson an EOU freshman tragically killed in a 2009 auto accident. Following the loss of their son, Joe’s parents, Doug and Kyla Dickerson made a gift of funds to the EOU Art program. 

“Joe was a model student whose creative energy and enthusiasm for learning was infectious. In light of this the EOU Art Program chose to use the funds so generously given by the Dickerson family to endow an award in their son’s name to be presented annually to a student who the Art faculty feels best exemplifies Joe’s dedication, curiosity and creative spirit,” Peeke said.

The exhibition will run May 13 through June 10. There will be an opening reception Friday, May 13 from 5 to 7 p.m., with presentation of awards at 5:45 p.m. in the gallery. 

Gilsdorf will present a public talk on her studio practice Thursday, May 5 at 6pm in Huber Auditorium, Badgley Hall. The presentation is free and the public is encouraged to attend.

The Nightingale Gallery is located in Loso Hall on the campus of Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, OR.  Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday. For more information, visit eou.edu/art. Find details about this and other May events at eou.edu/may.

To request images of artwork for publication or to schedule an interview with one or more of the artists please contact Gallery Director Cory Peeke at cpeeke@eou.edu.
Follow the Nightingale Gallery Facebook at facebook.com/NightingaleGallery and on Instagram at instagram.com/nightingale_gallery.