After the art comes business
BU Art League opens gallery for CFA students
During their four years at the College of Fine Arts, visual arts majors learn about the fundamentals of painting, drawing, and sculpture, explore the work and methods of other artists, and finally, develop a style and vision of their own.
But too often, says sophomore Anne Albagli (CFA’08), they don’t learn how to make a living as a visual artist. Now, the BU Art League, a new student group Albagli helped found last semester, is trying to fill such gaps in their education.
“The point of the Art League is to help art students learn things they don’t learn in their classrooms,” says Albagli. “Things like how to market yourself as an artist and how to talk to people who aren’t artists. And there are opportunities for exhibitions as well.”
Last semester the group sponsored a panel discussion about how to write an artist statement, and in December held its first gallery show. On Friday, March 24, the league will hold an opening reception for its second juried student exhibition, which will take place at 18 Tremont St., Boston, from 6 to 8 p.m.
“It’s such a great experience,” Albagli says. “First, for the public to see work by artists they wouldn’t normally see, and it’s also a great opportunity for students.”
The show, which features the work of 15 students, was put together by a student jury with an eye toward finding pieces that would look good when shown together.
The gallery is actually a window space in a building near City Hall, which the Art League obtained in a collaboration with ArtStreet, a nonprofit arts organization run by local artist Sidewalk Sam, aka Robert Guillemin (CFA’74). While the window is an unconventional display space, Albagli says it allows pedestrians and people who might not normally visit galleries to see the artwork.
The setup has already worked to the advantage of one student: painting major Julia von Metzsch (CFA’07) has made a sale to someone who noticed her paintings in the window.
For more information on the BU Art League, contact Albagli at AnnieA@bu.edu.