A pop-up art gallery created by the UNK Art Society, a student organization, was on display in the Nebraskan Student Union last week, showcasing student artwork and drawing attention to creative expression across campus. The exhibition featured a variety of student work, including paintings, photography, ceramics, digital art and collages.
Jay Castañeda, president of the Art Society, said the event began as a long-term idea that came together with support from student government and campus partners.
“This was kind of an idea we had been sitting on since the beginning of the year,” Castañeda said. “Then a student came to us and said he wanted to do a gallery, and it lined up perfectly with what we were already planning.”
Ariah Peterson, public relations officer for the Art Society, said one of the biggest challenges was encouraging student participation and receiving submissions early in the planning process.
“At first it felt kind of difficult,” Peterson said. “We didn’t really know who would want to participate, and there were moments where we only had one or two submissions. It was stressful.”
Gracie Boe, vice president of the Art Society, said participation increased significantly closer to the deadline.
“It felt like everyone was waiting until the last minute,” Boe said. “Then all of a sudden, two or three days before, it just picked up a lot.”
Despite early uncertainty, organizers ultimately received around 30 submissions for the exhibition.
The display also included a public voting system, allowing students across campus to choose their favorite pieces.
“There’s a QR code on the flyer,” Boe said. “People can scan it and vote for whichever piece they like the most.”
Castañeda said student government funding helped make the event possible, including supplies and prizes for the voting portion.
“They gave us a good amount of funding for prizes,” Castañeda said. “We were able to get name-brand art supplies and even a Lego botanical set as a grand prize.”
Beyond participation numbers, one of the main goals of the exhibition was to build a stronger sense of community within the arts program. Castañeda said that events like this help connect students and encourage more people to engage with creative work.
“We just want to bring more people into the arts,” Castañeda said. “It can feel like campus is divided by majors, and art is sometimes overlooked.”
The exhibition also changed the way some students move through the student union, as viewers often paused to look at pieces they encountered. With a variety of pieces to look at, students spent as much time as they wanted viewing each piece.
Peterson said this kind of spontaneous engagement was something they hoped to encourage through the display.
“I like going into the union and seeing people actually stop and look at the pieces,” Peterson said. “It makes it feel real that people are appreciating what was created.”
For the Art Society, the exhibition represented both creativity and community.
Castañeda described the event as “metamorphosis.”
“I just think that showing oneself is such a vulnerable thing and doing that was just such an amazing thing to see,” Castañeda said. “I know a lot of artists are just shy, and they don’t like to show their work. That’s me. I don’t like to show my work usually, so being able to put yourself out there is just really amazing to see.”
Peterson said the best thing students could take away was a thought-provoking experience.
“The emotion that art evokes, even just the admiration it evokes, is what I hope students take away,” Peterson said. “I hope that you can look at these pieces of artwork, feel something and think about it as you walk away. At the very least, maybe it stays on your mind for a little bit and makes you contemplate things.”
