04/22/2025
Student Select 2025, SUNY Cortland’s annual, juried exhibition featuring paintings, drawings, sculpture, photography, digital media, fibers, and prints created by students, opened on April 21.
The exhibition runs through Friday, May 9, in the Dowd Fine Arts Center’s Dowd Gallery.
Student Select is sponsored by the Art and Art History Department’s Dowd Gallery and the student-run Art Exhibition Association (AEA) to celebrate excellence in studio art from courses offered through the Art and Art History Department.
Student Select 2025 will feature an opening reception and awards ceremony from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 23, in the Dowd Gallery. The exhibition and opening reception are free and open to the public.
The opening reception will include an award ceremony with the student artists, faculty and staff from the Art and Art History Department and this year’s exhibition curator. Winners will be announced for best in show, second prize, third prize and honorable mentions. Also during the ceremony, the winner of the fifth Muriel and Newell Keegan Prize for Excellence in Studio Art will be announced.
Sayward Schoonmaker, the artistic director of the Stone Quarry Hill Art Park in Cazenovia, N.Y., was invited to be this year’s juror.
Schoonmaker has a Master of Library and Information Science from Syracuse University, a Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art: Department of Fiber and Material Studies, from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a Bachelor of Science in Studio Art from Skidmore College.
“Each year, the show is curated by an outside juror, typically one who Dowd Gallery has been affiliated with,” said AEA President Kat McCormick said. “The exhibition features art of all mediums offered here at SUNY Cortland’s Art and Art History Department made by students across all majors.”
Schoonmaker chose for public display some 70 pieces made by student artists out of 150 submissions.
“Schoonmaker had a tactful and attentive approach during her selection process,” McCormick said. “Distinguishing between foundational techniques and advanced studio concepts, her multi-disciplinary experiences in visual art guided her thoughtful curation of the exhibition.”
The gallery in Dowd Center is located on the corner of Graham Avenue and Prospect Terrace. It is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays; and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursdays. Walk-ins are welcome.
For more information, contact Kat McCormick. Visit the SUNY Cortland Dowd Gallery website for details about exhibiting artists, other programs, safety protocols and group visits.
Select an image below to begin a slide show.
Kat McCormick, “worst thing i could do is disappoint you,” 2024. Oil on canvas
Melissa Kummrow, “Hypnic Jerk,” 2025. Weaving and embroidery
Sarah Goldberg, “Crucifixion,” 2024. Cast iron and hair
Tatiana Patrone, “Female Pose — A Study,” 2025. Clay (ceramics)