Best of SUNY Student Artists Honored at State University Plaza
June 5, 2018
Student Artwork on Display at SUNY System Plaza Hall and Gallery
Albany – State University of New York Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson announced the winners of this year’s Best of SUNY Student Art Exhibition, which showcases work by student artists from across its 64 campuses. Student artwork will be on display at State University Plaza in Albany through mid-December of this year.
"In an era focused on big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, it’s easy to overlook the importance of the humanities, but the liberal arts will help create a generation that can think critically and creatively—art is a huge part of that," said Chancellor Johnson. "Congratulations to all of our students who are in the Best of SUNY Student Art Exhibition, and I thank them for sharing a part of themselves through their inspiring and passionate artwork."
Three Best of Show student artists will receive $1,000 scholarships. They are:
- Hudson Hooper, SUNY Potsdam – "Untitled"
- Doe Keh, Mohawk Valley Community College – Day Dreaming
- Valerie Shilmov, Binghamton University – Self-Portrait
Honorable Mention awards of $500 were also given to four students. They are:
- Amanda Dillon, SUNY Potsdam – Adirondack Mountains 1
- Danielle Dirks, Niagara County Community College – "Untitled"
- Jane Lawrence, Dutchess Community College – Mourning Pond 3
- Leah Monsour, SUNY New Paltz – Nude #4 (Brenna)
Artwork featured at the Best of SUNY exhibit are chosen by campus art departments. The traditional areas of drawing, ceramics, painting, sculpture, photography, and printmaking are included, as well as mixed media, graphic design, and digitally produced works.
The show was juried by Susan Spencer Crowe, a sculptor who has exhibited widely in the Hudson Valley region and in New York City. Crowe is also the recipient of two Artist Fellowship awards in sculpture from the New York Foundation for the Arts and was named the Lily Auchincloss Foundation Sculpture Fellow in 2001. She is currently an adjunct assistant professor in the Arts Department at Queens College in New York City.
The SUNY student art shows were initiated in 2001 so that the work of SUNY’s most talented student artists would be seen by a wider audience. SUNY student art is on display year-round at State University Plaza, as well as SUNY Global Center in New York City, and Governor Cuomo’s Washington, DC office.
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state's only college of optometry, 12 Educational Opportunity Centers, over 30 ATTAIN digital literacy labs, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.7 million students across its portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2025, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and annually one in three New Yorkers who earn a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.
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Holly Liapis
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