The School of Art Collection and Galleries are comprised of seven gallery spaces located on the Kent State University campus and downtown Kent, Ohio. The galleries exhibit art from local, regional, national and international artists with new exhibitions every 4-6 weeks. Students also have opportunities to exhibit their work in many of these spaces.
The collection consists of over 4,000 historical and contemporary art objects contained in an open storage space located at the Center for the Visual Arts. The space is easily accessible to classes so students can get up close and even handle objects. The mission of the School of Art Collection is to collect objects important to the history of the School of Art as well as works created by women and artists of color.
The School of Art Collection and Galleries are supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council.
In the Galleries
The Kent State University School of Art Collection and Galleries will present multiple exhibitions this spring that showcase student artwork. These exhibitions include the Student Annual (March 19 - May 1, 2021), 15 M.F.A Thesis Exhibitions (March 23 - April 2, 2021), and 20 B.F.A Thesis Exhibitions (April 6-8, 2021), all focusing on School of Art undergraduate and graduate students. All exhibitions are free and open to the public.
Every year, School of Art majors, minors, and graduate students submit their best artwork to the Student Annual juried exhibition, which is curated by a guest juror. This year, the guest juror was Claudia Berlinski, Director of the McDonough Museum of Art at Youngstown State University. The show, which consists of 32 artworks selected from 161 entries in a variety of media, is on view through May 1, 2021 at the KSU Downtown Gallery, located at 141 E. Main St. in downtown Kent.