After two years without a Faculty Exhibition, the Visual Art Faculty selected this fitting title for our 2021 Showcase. We find ourselves emerging in so many respects: emerging from being isolated by the pandemic, emerging from arguably the two most difficult years of our teaching careers, emerging from our much needed summer rest.

The word emerge has such beautiful connotations, especially in the natural world: butterflies and moths emerge from their cocoons, sprouts emerge from the earth, the act of emergence is joyous. As we emerge from the world of virtual and hybrid teaching, we are embracing the tactility of our artwork, the physical skills we teach and employ, the labor, thoughts, and ideas that we engage with as artists. We are emerging to embrace and cultivate our relationships with our students, with our artistic processes, and with each other. 

We are all emerging, as instructors, as students, as a community. 

We are also embracing and honoring how the department has grown and changed, by celebrating our core faculty: Rachel Welch, Shaunna Lehr, Cristie Scott, Chris Groth, Jasmine Peck, and Cooper Dai, and welcoming three new faculty members: Lizz Hamilton, Ghazal Rahimi, and Cihan Sesen. 

We emerge: together, renewed, and with conviction as we commence this new academic year.

-Linda Lucía Santana, Chair, Visual Arts Department