(August Crofts/East Tennessean)

ETSU offers students recognition and display with Dark Impulses: Student Honor Show of 2022. 

“The Student Honor Show annual juried exhibition is inspiring. It shows off the best creative work of ETSU students and the strength of the art program. The works are not only examples of good mentorship, but also serve as evidence of the technical skills and conceptual development of our students,” said Karlota Contreras-Koterbay, director of Slocumb Galleries and organizer for the Student Honor Show. 

The ETSU Department of Art and Design and Slocumb Galleries are currently hosting the Student Honor Show alongside Jerry Artarama of Knoxville Tennessee Crafts and the Fletcher Hancock Dyer Scholarship. It has been open since April 11 and will remain open to the public until April 29. Slocumb Galleries is located on ETSUs campus near Sherrod Drive.

This year’s theme, “Dark Impulses,” is inspired by the exhibition’s juror TK Smith, curator and art writer. The work featured this year is supposed to represent the different visual expressions to tap into the students’ psyche. The work represents what is important to the students.

Keely Melton is a senior at ETSU who is majoring in graphic design. After years of dealing with ear infections and tubes she began using hearing aids when she was 16 years old. Her experience from dealing with hard hearing at such a young age is what has inspired her artwork for the gallery. 

“When tackling such a personal topic like mine, it was really hard to separate myself from the feedback that was given. There were several times that I had to remember that my professors and peers weren’t critiquing me, but really my work,” stated Melton. 

An in-person reception will be held on Wednesday April 20 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and Dr. Kimberly McCorkle, Vice President for Academic Affairs at ETSU, is the guest of honor with ETSU Provost who will award the winners. The show ends on April 29 and is available for viewing Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information about the event and its participants, visit https://www.etsu.edu/cas/art/galleries/slocumb.php.