WMU interior design students stage exhibition
Jan. 25, 2002
KALAMAZOO -- Work by three interior design students will be the focus of a Senior Design Showcase, a two-week exhibition that begins Monday, Jan. 28, in Western Michigan University's Interior Design Gallery, Room 1016 of the Trimpe Building.
The event, which runs through Friday, Feb. 8, is the first in a series of gallery showings featuring work by seniors in WMU's interior design program. Each is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.
Students Kelly Cross, of Traverse City, Mich.; Carolyn Farrugia, of Petoskey, Mich.; and Emily Shelide, of Pinckney, Mich., will stage the first show. As organizers of their own exhibit, the students are responsible for the work they choose to show, gallery lighting, presentation design and an opening or closing reception.
The senior show is one of two major culminating events for seniors. In the spring, each must also present a final project to a panel of reviewers. Adaptive re-use of historic structures, commercial renovations, and mixed-use developments are among the many interior design assignments the seniors are pursuing.
"It's very important to have our students feel empowered when they leave here for the work force," says Berni Proeschl, an assistant professor of family and consumer sciences. "They have to learn to be flexible and to expand their horizons."
For more information, contact Proeschl at (269) 387-3724 or <bernard.proeschl@wmich.edu>.
Media contact: Gail H. Towns, 269 387-8400, gail.towns@wmich.edu