04/01/2026
Student Select 2026, SUNY Cortland’s annual, juried exhibition featuring impressive student artwork, runs through Wednesday, April 15, in the university’s Dowd Gallery.
Original artwork includes ceramics, sculpture, prints, painting, fibers and digital media. The exhibition, which opened on March 26, is sponsored by the Dowd Gallery and the student-run Art Exhibition Association (AEA).
The Student Select 2026 exhibition, which celebrates excellence in studio art from courses offered through the Art and Art History Department, is free and open to the public. It remains on display through Wednesday, April 15.
The opening reception, held on March 26, included an award ceremony with student artists, faculty and staff from the Art and Art History Department and this year’s exhibition curator, Brookley Abbate ’02. Winners included:
- 2026 Best of Show — Josefina Jimenez Garcia, digital animation, “Penelope and Odysseus”
- Second prize — David Barry, oil on panel painting, “It’s Cold Outside”
- Third prize — Bella Chuley, oil on canvas painting, untitled
- Fourth prize — Molly Williams, weaving diptych, “Matthew 27:51”
Abbate is a visual arts teacher at Homer (N.Y.) Junior High School who has accumulated years of experience working with students and community members through visual art as a teacher, organizer, exhibition jurist and coordinator of field trips to SUNY Cortland for prospective students.
Abbate was invited to be this year’s juror by the AEA.
“After an invitation to sit in on a critique in advanced drawing, the association thought (Abbate’s) background in mixed materials would be ideal in the deliberation between nuances in the artwork of varying levels of student work from studio art courses and independents,” said AEA representative Kat McCormick.
“Many of the foundational skills for these subjects take root first in New York state junior high curriculum,” they said. “That allows Abbate’s practiced experience to analytically isolate exceptional works among a field of great examples.”
This year’s Student Select was a little unique.
“With the help of our submission limit of two pieces per student, we received as many submissions as the amount of work we wanted to display,” McCormick said. “No pieces were selected out this year, so our juror could focus solely on her rankings.”
The gallery in Dowd Center is located on the corner of Graham Avenue and Prospect Terrace. It is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays; and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursdays. Walk-ins are welcome.
For more information, an appointment, a tour, or additional images, contact McCormick. Visit the Dowd Gallery website for details about exhibiting artists, other programs, safety protocols and group visits.
Select an image to begin a slide show
2026 Best of Show — Josefina Jimenez Garcia, digital animation, “Penelope and Odysseus”
First prize — David Barry, oil on panel painting, “It’s Cold Outside”
Fourth prize — Molly Williams, weaving diptych, “Matthew 27:51”
Third prize — Bella Chuley, oil on canvas painting, untitled