On Friday, Feb. 13, the Holt-Russell Gallery unveiled the Baker University National 2026 Exhibit. The exhibit consists of 52 works of art by 24 artists from current college students to professionals all over the country. There is a wide variety of artworks on display among them are sculptures, graphite drawings and photographs.
Art Professor Russell Horton put out a request for artwork in October and received 370 submissions for the show. Professor Horton then reached out to Kent Michael-Smith to narrow down the entries and select around 50 that would be shown in the gallery. Smith, a trained artist, is the current director of the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art at Kansas State University.
In order for Smith to select the target 50 photographs, he said he had to “look a little deeper and deeper and deeper.” Choosing which artworks are going to be showcased is no easy task and it can have large impacts on those artists who are selected.
“As artists, you’re trained to accept rejection” said Smith, “when you get that little tidbit of acceptance it’s incredible. It lights the fire for the next thing that you’re going to do”.
For Professor Horton having art being selected is a different story, “it’s almost been kind of a weird experience having my work on a wall, they (art pieces) literally don’t feel like mine anymore. For me the experience of making and understanding what I’m painting… is what fuels me”.
The art within the gallery covers a wide variety of techniques and mediums but one theme stays consistent throughout. “One of the underlying themes I noticed as I was hanging, was a theme on identity” said Professor Horton.
The gallery will be open for viewing until April 3, 2026.
