The Department of Art & Art History presents the Annual Student Juried Exhibition, on view through March 6. The awards ceremony takes place at 5:30 pm in Rowe Lobby.
This year's distinguished juror is Lauren Harkey of Hodges Taylor Gallery.
Lauren Harkey, a Charlotte native, earned a B.A. with distinction in Art History and Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After graduation, Lauren interned with Carla Hanzal, the former Curator of Contemporary Art at The Mint Museum and the current director of Public Art for The Arts and Science Council. Lauren earned her Masters of Letters in Modern and Contemporary Art with distinction from the University of Glasgow in association with Christie's Education in London, England, and her thesis was entitled Common Borders: The Contingent Subject in Contemporary Art.
Lauren graduated cum laude from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 2014 and is licensed to practice law in North Carolina. In law school, Lauren won a national writing competition for her art law independent study paper entitled Copyright's Identity Crisis in the Reflection of Contemporary Art. Since returning to Charlotte after her graduate work, Lauren has been actively involved in the arts community and currently serves as President of the Board of the Young Affiliates of the Mint Museum.
In 2016, Lauren joined Christie Taylor as a partner and consultant with Hodges Taylor. Hodges Taylor was founded in 1980 by Dot Hodges and Christie Taylor and operated as reputable gallery representing Southeastern artists for over thirty years. Today, Hodges Taylor operates as a consulting firm and exhibition space that helps businesses and individuals begin or continue to build art collections.
On behalf of the Young Affiliates, Lauren organized the inaugural juried art show, 80x80: An Art Show, featuring a survey of contemporary practice hosted at Mint Uptown which one Creative Loafing's Best Exhibit of 2016. Lauren also helped organize the Young Affiliates' 2nd annual art show, GENDERED, a juried art show focusing on an open definition of gender and intersectionality, hosted at Mint Uptown. Lauren has served on a panel to select the commissioned artwork for ASC’s 25th Street Bridge. Lauren has juried the show, Futurism, hosted at C3 Labs and The Light Factory’s Members Show in the Fall of 2017. Lauren has also served on art panels about collecting and contemporary art.