The Sculpture + Extended Media seniors in the School of the Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University are hosting their final show: No Fit State.
The Sculpture + Extended Media seniors in the School of the Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University are hosting their final show: No Fit State.
The show will be held at 207-209 North Foushee Street—-right in the center of the Arts District on Broad Street. It will run from the Opening on Friday, April 18 until the Closing during the First Fridays Art Walk on Friday, May 2. A night of performances will also be held on Friday, April 25, featuring performance artworks by Sculpture seniors.
No Fit State will feature a wide range of artwork from the seniors in the Sculpture + Extended Media department, including video, performance, painting, free-standing sculpture, and installation. The show is free and open to the public.
An off-site show in conjunction with No Fit State will be held from Friday, April 18 to Sunday, April 20 at the Fine Arts Building of Virginia Commonwealth University on 1000 West Broad Street. It will feature work from the Sculpture + Extended Media, Craft & Material Studies, Painting & Printmaking, and Kinetic Imaging departments.
Preparation for the show has been orchestrated solely by the seniors themselves. Alongside finishing up classes and preparing for graduation, Nathaniel Cody, Molly Gentry, Rachel Ludwig, and Hannah Brownell have been working closely with the senior class and the department to make it all happen.
To get this far, the team has faced some difficulties along with the way. “The main challenges were in trying to find a space that fit our needs and had a landlord that was willing to work with us,” says Brownell. “Since we had to raise all the money ourselves, finances have also been somewhat tricky. We had to make sure that we got any fundraising methods approved by VCUarts. We ended up throwing fundraisers and even had a kickstarter.” You can check out the Kickstarter page here.
But things have been running smoothly ever since. As the Opening date approaches, the team has been hard at work with all of the finishing touches. “We’re rushing to get everything finished. Everyone in the department is very excited!” says Brownell.
The space is just shy of 5,000 sq feet and will be open, with the help of volunteers, for three weeks. “We have been very fortunate to find such a large space,” says Brownell. “We intend to make full use of it.” In addition, artists Matt Spahr and Valerie Molnar will be curating the show. “Matt and Valerie will be working closely with all of us to decide how best to set up and display our work,” Brownell says.
Viewers are in for a treat: in addition to the expected three-dimensional works produced in the Sculpture + Extended Media department, there will also be an array of works within the “Extended Media” realm. The students in Sculpture department consistently challenge and redefine the expectations of sculpture artists. “No Fit State showcases not only our department, but more importantly our own work as individual artists who are about to graduate and go on into the professional world,” Brownell says. “This is a show that displays all our hard work from the past four years—and more for some of us. I’m certain it will be a very rich show.”
No Fit State is one of only a few off-campus senior shows of past graduating classes. This year’s graduating class is the first with such success in advertising and fundraising. The department has raised over $3,000 on the Kickstarter alone. It has been advertised on radio stations, and will be featured on CBS 6 on April 15 at 8:25 AM. “We’re hoping to encourage not only future Sculpture classes to branch out, but also other VCUarts departments,” Brownell says. “By forming a lot of good relationships with local news, buildings, and departments, we’re hoping that other classes and departments can benefit from these relationships as well.” Any unspent money, she added, will be donated back to the Sculpture department to use for the next class’s senior show and scholarships.
“To future classes, I would say: start early,” says Brownell. “I also think it is important to note that we’ve had a great team working together. This is not a task for one person, or even a few. It takes many to make a great senior show, and you need to make sure to motivate people!”
The team would like to thank all of the families, friends, alumni, and community that donated to the kickstarter, as well as the department heads, Mary Eisendrath and Carlton Newton.
“I’m sure we’ll have a great turnout,” says Brownell, “This show is definitely not one to be missed!”
