Missouri Southern senior art students will display their art work for the general public to view April 13- May 9.

Senior art exhibits are held every year. The exhibits serve two purposes: they are used to grade the students and to give them an opportunity to display their work.

“This is an opportunity for the entire art faculty to evaluate the students. Each faculty member turns in an evaluation,” said Val Christensen, associate professor of art.

Christensen said part of the grading criteria would be observing how the students interact with the public.

“We want to assure that they are representative of the program,” he said.

Art education, graphic and studio students are displaying their work at the event.

“The exhibitions put on display a wide range of media, technique and subject matter,” Christensen said.

“This is an accumulation of their four years at Southern.”

Receptions are held on Sundays 2-5 p.m. “normally,” Christensen said. Due to Easter Sunday, a reception will not be held. Instead, the reception will be held from 6-9 p.m. the following day. Weekdays the event will run from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Jed Bennett, senior graphic arts major, who will display his work May 4-9, attended the April 13 reception.

“They had a good turnout,” he said. “The students worked really hard and it showed.”

Bennett estimated that 50 to 75 people attended the reception.

“It was a good crowd for that size of gallery,” he said.

Bennet expressed mixed feelings about showing his work.

“It is neat to show your work,” he said. “At the same time you’re worried if your stuff is good enough.”

Family and friends comprise the majority of individuals present at the receptions Christensen said.

“If students have had an internship, they will often invite representatives of area companies to look at their work,” Christensen said.

“This is another opportunity for them to put their work in front of the community and prospective employers,” he said.

Chad Stangl, senior studio art major, had his reception at the Joe Harding Building in downtown Joplin April 12.

Stangl could not show his work at the Spiva gallery because of the nature of his work, Christensen said.

“Chad is a sculptor and he works very large,” he said.

“His work is best viewed in isolated conditions without other things around,” Christensen said.

Stangl said his reception “went rather well.”

“Quite a few people showed up; the band Gizmo played an acoustic set,” he said.

Stangl estimated 75 people attended his reception.

“Everybody I talked to seemed to enjoy it,” he said.