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A Roadtrip for Success: Media Art and Design Students Journey for Opportunity  

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Posted on Tuesday, February 9, 2016

This semester, seven Media Art and Design students journeyed to Pittsburgh to attend a portfolio review. Hosted by the Art Institute of Pittsburgh (AIP), with help and planning by Dr. Deb Mitchell, the students who attended were given the opportunity to receive outside feedback about their designs, speak with AIP professors, and take a tour of the school.

During the review, each student had to show the portfolio they prepared one at a time, with everyone, including the other students, able to hear the feedback. The AIP panel consisted of four to five AIP professors at any given time, each with a different field of study and background. Through helpful critique the professors were able to give the students ideas on how to progress in their design careers and ways to take their artwork to the next level.  

“Visiting the Art Institute was an amazing opportunity,” said sophomore, Laura Page, after the review was finished. “I was so glad to be able to get professional critiques on my portfolio.”

The students, Linzy Borowicz, Jacquelyn Holiday, Brandon Madison, Laura Page, Jacqueline Schultz, Justin Shaw, and Doltyn Snedden, range from sophomores to seniors. Each portfolio varied based on the type of artwork shown and many included photography, product design, and different types of design layout. The students could choose to use a printed or digital version of their portfolio to show at the review.

After the portfolio review, they were given a tour of the facilities at AIP, which was described by junior Jacqueline Schultz as, “a helpful chance to be immersed in a new design environment” The tour allowed the students to see all the different programs at AIP, starting from the top of the building with culinary, down to the basement where the photography programs take place.

Design students will have the opportunity to show their work and get feedback again later in the semester at a portfolio event for the Media Art and Design students taking place on the Westminster campus. In addition to the portfolio review, the Media Art and Fine Art seniors will be creating a gallery show to showcase their artwork, which will be opening in the Foster Art Gallery in Patterson Hall, on March 21.