Small Towns Exhibit debuts in Cheney
EWU VCD students and Cheney residents discuss the artwork.
May 14, 2015
After months of mystery and an academic quarter of construction, the Small Towns art exhibit in Brewster Hall’s community area has seen its debut.
For the last few months, the first floor of Brewster Hall has been partitioned by plastic sheeting. The sounds of significant remodeling could be heard all the way to the fourth floor and went on until odd hours of the morning.
But on April 30 the veil was lifted, metaphorically and literally. What was once only an empty space now houses the university’s newest art gallery, appropriately named Downtown Student Gallery. Intended to eventually host a variety of different exhibitions, the space’s first selection is the Small Towns Exhibition. The display was organized and put on by Eastern’s own Visual Design Club and represents the cumulative work of 18 different artists. Collected from the students of Colfax, Colville and Walla Walla high schools, the art will be displayed until June 14.
To visitors, the exhibition might evoke feelings of quaint tranquility and anyone who has spent even an hour in one of Washington’s numerous small towns may immediately feel the connection.
Well lit and professionally arranged, the new gallery is worth a visit. Though a brisk walk from the main campus, the gallery is intended to cater to the Cheney community as much as to the university’s students.
“I think it will help to get more of the community involved in the local art scene as well as the college itself,” said Fallon Beere, a junior and resident of Brewster Hall. “I know that they do art shows on the main campus sometimes but not a lot of people go. The downtown location makes it much more accessible to the community at large.”
The exhibition itself has been met with positive reviews from students and visitors alike.
“It’s pretty cool,” said Dora Sherman, another junior and Brewster resident. “It’s really great to see the students’ art on display, especially in a public setting where everyone can see it.”
The gallery is not the first of its kind at Eastern, but it is the only current permanent space of its kind on campus. Though the installments will be changing over time, the gallery will remain open to the public whenever a new exhibition is in.
“It would be awesome to see more art displays like this one,” said Sherman. “I’m excited to see what the gallery hosts in the future.”
If this beginning is anything to judge by, there could be an interesting future in store for the gallery. The current exhibit is generally open from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. The gallery is located just off the foyer in Brewster Hall and is accessible by the 2nd Street entrance.
