The Milligan College senior fine arts exhibit, ironically titled the Milligan Social Distancing Gallery, was held online on April 21 due to the coronavirus. While the experience was not quite what these seniors were expecting, the event was an overall success.
Seven exhibits are currently online, and all of the students have poured their best effort into producing the images over the past four years. Senior students are able to choose their medium, or mediums, of preference to present their theme.
The senior photography majors’ exhibits included Ashlyn Lightfoot’s “The American Menagerie” and Amy Shumaker’s “Sola Ecclesia.” Along with these two photography majors are five photography minor exhibits including “Memory Breach” by Adam J. Trabold, “Breaking the Stigma” by Ashlyn Jackson, “Penumbra” by Cora Wymer, “Outside the Walls” by Gabi Brown and “Double This, Double That” by Kayla Baker.
In the past, photography seniors have been known to spend hours, if not days, to get their images fine-tuned and ready for the senior exhibit.
“I had been scanning my negatives as I developed them since I had been in Italy. Thankfully, I had a lot of my photos already digitized, even though I didn’t have all of them that I had originally wanted for the show,” said Lightfoot. “I have been thinking about this show since Freshman year, so to have my vision for an overwhelming and eclectic gallery postponed was definitely upsetting.”
Although what some seniors had imagined could not come to life, there were some advantages to holding the event online, like reaching a much broader audience.
“It was actually really rewarding to hear that there would be a way to exhibit our photos after the shows in person were canceled,” said Baker. “I didn’t really expect feedback with an online show, but I was wrong.”
The online format made it easy for visitors to leave comments to the artists through a contact link, and visitors can still send an email with their comments to replicate the ‘sign in book’ that would normally accompany the physical gallery.
“I received an email a few days ago from a student enrolled in our masters of education program. She expressed just how much my show meant to her, as she just lost her Dad back in December who was a twin… That is why I love photography, it goes far beyond just the photo itself,” Baker commented.
As these seniors move on from Milligan, they can look back on their college experience as a time filled with lasting friendships and meaningful lessons from their mentors.
Photography and graphic design major Amy Shumaker reflects on her time at Milligan, “My time as a college student has shown me that I can take a huge undertaking, like this show, and create something beautiful,” said Shumaker. “I plan to continue my show in my spare time. It’s important to me because it is also personal.”
Lightfoot recalls retired photography professor, Alice Anthony, whose teachings were a foundational part of her photographic interest. “I will never stop singing the praises of Alice Anthony. Professor Anthony has been like a second mother and a best friend to me since I started at Milligan,” said Lightfoot. “She is one of the greatest gifts that I will have for the rest of my life. I would also like to thank Will Major because he made all of this possible and has pushed me to believe more in myself after coming back from abroad.”
To view the exhibit for yourself, head over to milligansocialdistancinggallery.com, and feel free to give feedback on the hard work these seniors have done.
Headline photo: The five senior photography minors’ cover images for their individual exhibits.