The 25th annual Young Contemporaries, a juried student exhibition, and Salon des Refuses opened April 1. The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, located in the new arts building, showcased 90 works of art ranging from paintings, print and photography to sculpture and video art. The event was co-produced by the Visual Arts Club, the Department of Studio Art and the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College. The exhibition provided free beverages and cookies and made guests, artists and interested students feel welcome.
This year’s juror was Mary Jane Jacob. Jacob, a sculpture professor and Executive Director of Exhibitions and Exhibition studies at The School of Art Institute of Chicago, choose 90 works from the submitted 500.
Erin Hoskins, Visual Arts Club president, presented 16 awards for each group. Hoskins said that awards were judged on “a mix of good technique and concept. There needs to be thought behind the artwork.” 
The Visual Arts Club Award was awarded to Parker Sullivan for “Hydroponic Cloning Sculpture.”
There were five awards given from Salon des Refuses in each category as well as three overall awards.  Jesse Wallace won for sculpture, installation and video with her video “Social Control.” Elena Barrio’s work “Sad Guy” won for the print category.  Allison Evans’ “Reflexive” took the photography award. In the painting category, Caroline Echols was awarded for “Epiphany.” “Paul’s Madonna” by Adrienne Beck won the drawing category.
Salon des Refuses overall awards went to Courtney Peterson for “Theatre” in third place, second place to Grace Aghapour for “Rosie”, and first place to Sage Graham, “Absolute Unattainable Beauty.”
The Awards for Young Contemporaries were also separated into five categories. Marshall Thomas was awarded for his work, “Marylard,” in the sculpture, installation and video group. Hudson Hamrick’s “Enso” was the top print piece. “Untitled” by Emily Osborne won for the photography category. Kaitlin Carroll’s “#17” won for the painting category. In the drawing group Jessica Jarva’s “The Catalog Card Project” was awarded.
The overall awards for the Young Contemporaries were third place to Amanda Dolan’s “Untitled,” second place to Matthew Bowers for “Fossilized Pills” and first place to Lauren Frances Moore’s “Situation Orientation.”
The exhibition presented a wide variety of artistic originality that remains on display in the new arts building. Check it out and see the creative talent on campus.