UNC Wilmington’s Campus Life & Arts Programs and the Department of Art & Art History held Art for the Masses for its 17th year on Nov. 23 at the Burney Center. It is a community event that showcases local artwork. All work was sold for under $300 and 100 percent of all sale proceeds went to the artists themselves.

Artists included community members, UNCW and Cape Fear Community College students.

Jessie Robertson

Jessie Robertson, a UNCW student who transferred from Wilmington Early College and earned her associate degree from Cape Fear Community College (CFCC), displayed various artwork of her frogs under her brand “Frogs and Friends.” Her artwork focused on realistic paintings, digital art and collages.

Robertson is a studio and digital arts major who has loved both frogs and art since she was young.

“I love art, and I’ve been obsessed with frogs since I was a kid,” Robertson said. “I think it started when my grandfather gave me a stuffed frog.”

Robertson’s love of frogs led to her learning more about them. After discovering that several species were endangered, Robertson decided to infuse activism with her artwork. On the back of Robertson’s paintings of frogs are facts about them, and 10 percent of the proceeds from her artwork will go to the Save The Frogs organization.

B. MacBride

A freelancer artist who goes under the name “B. MacBride” displayed various mediums of artwork, including zines with original artwork and writing of her own. She graduated from CFCC in 2017 and was a member of the Art Club at the college.

MacBride would eventually like to incorporate comic books in her artwork.

“I’ve been trying to make comics since I was 8,” MacBride said. “It’s still something I’d love to do. Comics are a new medium, so it’s really cool to experiment with different artwork.”

MacBride is particularly interested in forming an artistic community in Wilmington.

“I feel like there’s a disconnect between the artistic community here,” MacBride said. “I’d love to bridge that gap and bring more of us together.”

Tara Coco

Tara Coco’s artwork branded under the name “Giggling Goblin Art,” mostly consisted of ceramics such as dishware. Coco started as a chemistry major at UNCW before Hurricane Florence hit, helping her realize that chemistry was not the major for her. Now a studio art major with a minor in digital art, Coco has been focusing more on her freelancing since the summer.

Though she changed from her science major, Coco feels like there is a connection between the art field and STEM.

“I feel like digital art is the STEM version of art,” Coco said.

Art for the Masses has been running since 2002. For more information on the event, visit its web page or contact Art for the Masses at @[email protected].