The All Student Show has been a tradition at UNCW for 15 years, allowing students to submit their best work in hopes that it will be chosen to hang in the Boseman Gallery. Of the artwork, a Best of Show and a Purchase Award are presented at the reception, where the artists gather to see if their pieces qualified. For the first time, UNCW’s Association for Campus Entertainment directed the exhibit.

ACE chose Rhonda Bellamy, the executive director of the Arts Council of Wilmington, as their judge. Bellamy studied all 75 pieces submitted and handpicked the showpieces, which will be on display until April. She labored for over two hours to make her decisions.

“I thought it would be easy and that I would just choose my favorite works, but it was a challenge with all the various art,” Bellamy said. “I had to think of what would work in the space with their scales, colors and dimensions. So much spoke to me in different ways. I had to keep standing back and thinking of what the work would like against the wall.”

Boseman Gallery Committee Chair, Gage Holcomb, made the final choices on the gallery’s layout with Bellamy’s picks. The time crunch between the All Student Show and the last exhibit proved difficult. Holcomb and ACE members spent the weekend painting walls and rearranging artwork.

“The reception is the highlight for me,” Holcomb said. “I’m ecstatic to see the reaction of the artists when they see their work has been chosen.  It’s all been a big secret up to this point.”

After assembling the All Student Show’s guests, Bellamy arrived to announce the award winners. Best of Show went to Janet Richardson, for her painting “Left Behind.” Bellamy chose this for its evocative color and form. The Purchase Award went to Lauren Lee, for her painting “Beautiful Boy,” because the eyes of the painted boy seem to “pop.” These pieces will be purchased by UNCW and hung on campus after the art show ends.  

Many honorable mentions were awarded and the Boseman Gallery now displays the various art mediums UNCW students are capable of. Ironwork, sculptures, photographs, watercolors and paintings represent the vast talents of UNCW students.

The exhibit will run until April 1st. The majority of the artwork is for sale to the public.