For the first time ever, five QCC students had artwork selected for the 20th Annual College Show by ArtsWorcester. This juried show of Worcester's collegiate artists will be on view through April 21 at the Davis Art Gallery, 44 Portland Street, Third Floor, Worcester.
The College Show will include artwork from the following QCC students:
- Carlos Crespo (winner of the Second Juror's Prize)
- Elliott Hunt
- Dat Le
- Ciara Pape
- Nehemias Torres Pacheco
Students from all disciplines are allowed to submit artwork to the College Show which was fortunate for Carlos Crespo. Carlos is pursuing an engineering associate degree at QCC, but has been painting for many years and has even worked as a full-time artist in the past.
While most people might not put art and engineering together, both areas are important to Carlos's life.
"I've always had this dream of being an engineer and an artist. So now I'm putting effort into both endeavors," said Carlos.
Whether it's building a machine to recycle plastic or painting a scene on a canvas, Carlos loves "taking raw materials and creating something."
His multifaceted approach has worked well for him thus far, as he won the Second Juror's Prize in the College Show for "Silver, Sword, and Stone", a dynamic oil painting of a bodega in his hometown of Lawrence. Carlos plans on transferring to Worcester Polytechnic Institute when he's finished at QCC but will continue to make art a priority in his life.
Interactive Media Design (IMD) student Nehemias Torres Pacheco has been doing art since middle school and while he loves the feeling of accomplishment from a finished piece, he appreciates each part of the process, from brainstorming ideas to sketching a composition. His inspirations vary from Japanese films of the 1980s to surrealist painter René Magritte, which can be seen in his two pieces, "Central" and "Sight," that were included in the College Show.
After being selected for show, Nehemias said he felt honored to be part of such a talented group and represent QCC. He praised QCC's IMD program for helping to hone his artistic skills that he will eventually use to pursue a career in illustration, comics or art direction.
"I've had a lot of obstacles but I don't let that stop me. As long as you're very persistent you can pursue those dreams and goals," Nehemias said.
At the show's opening on February 16, Executive Director of ArtsWorcester Juliet Feibel said, "Nothing stops young artists. We've been going strong for 20 years. And we're really excited to have such a strong presence from QCC. That's one of the best things about this year."