St Cloud State Gives Art Students Rare Opportunity [VIDEO]

ST. CLOUD - For 51 years St. Cloud State University has given art students the opportunity to present their art at it's annual Juried Student Art Exhibit.

The opening ceremony for the exhibit was on Thursday afternoon. Awards were given at the ceremony as well as scholarships.

SCSU invited Megan McCready to be the guest juror for the exhibit. McCready is the associate director of Midway Contemporary Art in Minneapolis. She was not at the opening ceremony but spent over seven hours judging the students work.

Gallery Director Bruce Tapola says the exhibit gives art students a chance to showcase their work to professionals.

"It's one of the ways art students get some acknowledgment out there in the world. Generally that's hard to come by especially when your a student. So this gives them the opportunity to be in front of a professional."

Only three artists were awarded Juror awards from over 150 different pieces of art work. Mady Vietchs was one of the Juror award winners. She says she uses art to help her connect with the world around her.

"I think art at it's base level is just communication. So I really want to communicate with people who think the way I do or who have never thought the way I do. I think there is two converging circles there, and that's really my goal."

The exhibit will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday thru Friday. The final day of the 51st annual Juried Student Art Exhibit will be May 12th.