The Boyle’s Family Gallery at Lindenwood’s J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts has been showcasing 85 art pieces collected from former students in an alumni exhibition since Aug. 25.

The Alumni Collection will be available for visitation through Nov. 13, and the gallery is inviting alumni to view the artwork themselves during the opening reception on Oct. 7 from 4-6 p.m. 

The pieces showcased in this exhibition were selected from the Lindenwood collection, in which students with Bachelor of Fine Arts majors are required to submit one of their works for their Capstone project.

“What this show represents is just a small portion of the Lindenwood collection,” said John Troy, Senior Professor of Art and Design. “There were five of us, faculty and staff in art and design, that went through the collection and pulled out pieces to show.” 

Artwork selected for the exhibition has little to do with favoring certain pieces by the faculty and staff, making the show diverse and varied. 

“When we went through the collection and started picking pieces, it wasn’t necessarily because they are the best piece to show, but because it shows a breadth of years in the program, as well as disciplines,” Troy said. “It’s certainly varied in content, subject matter, and discipline.” 

As Lindenwood strengthens its approach to reconnecting with alumni, it has been encouraged that faculty also engage with alum.

“The university as a whole has for the last year with our new strategic plan has made a huge initiative towards connecting with alumni,” Troy said. “President Porter and his cabinet really encourage us to engage with alumni as much as possible.” 

The alumni exhibition not only ranges in mediums and disciplines but also varies in years. Because of the timespan of these pieces, identifying artwork with the respective artist has been tedious according to Troy. 

“There are a handful of works in this exhibition that are not identified,” Troy said. “Frankly, maybe a tenth of the exhibition were unnamed.” 

With persistence, a majority of the artwork has been identified, despite the few that remain unnamed. 

“A student’s artwork is like their handwriting,” Troy said. “You know who does what even if they haven’t been here for 10 or 15 years.” 

As the exhibition pushes to promote connection with former students, it also allows current students to gain inspiration and ideas from past projects. 

“The creation of the gallery is to support the art and design curriculum,” Troy said. “I think that is an important part of our mission to expose students to expectations within their field.” 

Individuals interested in viewing the Boyle’s Family Gallery are welcome to visit when the gallery is open. The hours for the gallery are below. 

• Sunday: CLOSED
• Monday: 12 – 10 p.m.
• Tuesday: 12 – 11 p.m.
• Wednesday: 4 – 9 p.m.
• Thursday: 12 – 9 p.m.
• Friday: CLOSED
• Saturday: CLOSED

Gallery • 12 Photos

Photo by Bobbie Morrison

Artwork by Kelly Rau, Brittany Pierson and Rachel Hollis. Top left art piece remains unknown.