Annually the Department of Visual Arts (DoVA) students and instructors at Yakima Valley College (YVC) showcase their art at the DoVA Student Exhibition. The exhibition is held at the Larson Gallery in Yakima, Washington. From April 30 to May 25, this free event celebrates Yakima’s hidden talent of student artistry. (Note: this reporter had a piece of theirs showcased at the event.)
For this year’s exhibition, student art was chosen from spring and fall quarter of 2023 and winter quarter of 2024. Students were given the opportunity to price their work, making the exhibition a chance for community members to purchase locally made art. In addition to students, instructors are able to showcase a piece of their own work at the exhibition that highlights their creative process.
Many of the students also have a chance to win a variety of awards, given by the student government. A variety of achievements such as sponsor awards, cash rewards and honorable mentions. As well as giving awards for best drawing or best print out of the whole gallery.
“My art style would be that of a common thread of things I see, it would be impermanent and impermanence,” Kayo Nakamura, a YVC art instructor, said. ”Nakamura is one of the instructors who was tasked with selecting student art pieces to be presented at the gallery, and her work has been featured in the gallery in the past. “I’ll be observing the students and when I see something that a student makes, I think [if it] might be something that we want to include in the show,” she said.
Nakamura is a graduate in fine arts, studying both painting and drawing. Many of her works have been featured in galleries in Seattle and countries like Japan and Germany. Nakamura teaches a wide variety of classes, from drawing and painting to printmaking.
“The partnership between Yakima Valley College and the Larson Gallery Guild creates an environment where ideas flourish,” according to the Larson Gallery website. This partnership allows for YVC students and faculty to showcase their art in a professional setting. The partnership allows for a diverse range of art to be displayed, highlighting different artists and their artistic medium and process.
“The partnership with the Larson Gallery is very important for not only exhibiting student work but also for arts education and providing an opportunity for students to view a diversity of art media and artistic voices,” Monica Lemmon, an art instructor from YVC, said according to the university’s website.
