The Art Show has always been an event that many students looked forward to every year at Cabrini University. But this year due to COVID, the Art Show was done virtually via zoom. There was a total of 32 submissions this year and there was a total of 40 people present in the virtual show. It was interesting to see how many people were involved even though it was all done virtually. Overall, the virtual tour wasn’t all that different from what people would experience if it was in person.
There was a total of 12 featured artists during the tour that all shared their pieces and talked about the meaning and what kind of materials they used to create it. Although the actual show itself was done virtually, Cabrini still featured some of the artist’s actual work on the second floor of the library on campus, which is still open to students where they could go see the painting in person and get more of an actual experience.
At the gallery in the library, there is a total of 12 paintings hanging for all students to observe and enjoy. While many might think that having to present the art show virtual as a negative thing, it was actually turned out to be interesting and with the art displayed in the library, students can still get an in-person experience.
Katya Simonsen, a sophomore at Cabrini University, had two featured pieces during the tour. “Do Not Leave” and “Limbo” were the names of the two pieces Simonsen had featured in the show. Her paintings were created using watercolors on canvas, they were beautifully done. Her first painting, Do Not Leave, was a self-portrait. It was very creative and interesting.
Simonsen is also a big advocator for mental health, she thinks of art as therapy not only for herself but for other people as well. On social media, she shares tips and inspirational quotes often about using art as an outlet for mental health issues. Along with being a big advocate for mental health, Simonsen is also an advocator for suicide prevention. She has created many pieces about suicide prevention and often shares quotes about knowing the signs and how to help a person who is thinking about committing suicide.
Simonsen went on to talk about her experiences from high school where she spoke at a TEDx talk about her struggles with mental health and how she used art as a form of therapy. She also went on to say that she uses it as an outlet whenever she feels stressed or upset. “It’s super therapeutic and relaxing to just sit there and work on a project.” Simonsen also has her own business where she customizes paintings for her customers. In addition to paintings, she also sells customized shoes where she takes what the customers design and paints it on different types of shoes.
Along with Simonsen, there were also many other artists whose work was featured in the show. Megan Monostra, a graphic design major at Cabrini was also a featured artist in the show. Her piece was called, The Abyss, was a painting Monstra created using acrylic on canvas. Monostra. went on to talk about the meaning behind her piece, her struggle of coming out of mental health issues, and how she coped through this difficult time in her life. She also went on to explain that her painting represented, “Trying to find yourself out of the darkness.”
This event was organized by Jeanne Komp, head of the art department at Cabrini. Komp wanted to create a virtual experience that all students could enjoy and have fun with. She also wanted to create an in-person experience for students who could not attend the virtual show by putting the paintings on display in the Library on campus.
The Cabrini University art show is definitely worth attending.
