Students in MacEwan’s Studio Arts diploma program graduate with more than just creative skills. They also gain hands-on experience in some of the critical, behind-the-scenes elements of a fine art career, including planning an exhibition.

Maya Pereira and her classmates have been working with the Mitchell Art Gallery to plan their Studio Arts Diploma Grad Show, which opened on April 13. The experience left her feeling even better prepared for her career as an artist. “We need this practice and preparation to successfully become part of galleries and shows,” she says. “Being part of the planning process, submitting artwork for the show, installing the work and volunteering as a gallery attendant is amazing practice for student artists.”

One of the biggest challenges, says Pereira, was finding ways to lay out the exhibition so that each artwork could shine, while still presenting a cohesive look. “Curating a gallery is truly a team effort. Puzzling art together is difficult, but worth it.”

Pereira showed four pieces in the exhibition, including a collaborative video installation with fellow students Caitlin Kaiser and Israel Suzuki that explores the concept of sonder – the realization that everyone has a unique life outside your own. “I have a never-ending passion for understanding and exploring the human experience,” says Pereira. “I love looking at human lives through a lens of admiration and curiosity, like I am observing the wonderfully simple things we do in what feels like very complex lives.”

Though some students in the program will leave MacEwan with their diploma, others, including Pereira, will continue on to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts. “I’m so excited to stay at MacEwan for another two years and develop my practice even further alongside the amazing professors here,” she says.

For more information on the Studio Arts Grad Show and other upcoming exhibitions at the Mitchell Art Gallery, visit MacEwan.ca/MitchellArtGallery.

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