The art gallery at Cosumnes River College hosted an opening reception for its latest exhibition on April 18, showcasing works from students across campus.

The “Juried Exhibition” is hosted annually and allows any CRC student to submit their work for a chance to be displayed in the gallery, according to the CRC website. The submitted work goes before a jury, which this year consisted of Photography Department Chair Katherine Mayo, where pieces undergo a selection process.

“It’s hard to find places to put your stuff out there,” said James Louie, a 20-year-old business and art major. “So putting my artwork over here into this exhibition gets a lot of people to see it and admire it.”

Louie said the gallery gives students at CRC an opportunity to experiment and be creative with their pieces.

“Initially, I was too scared of doing other types of mediums, because I mainly did graphite drawings,” Louie said. “This just allowed me to explore my options and not just stick to one thing.”

The students’ artwork on display was up for sale, with prices for some pieces exceeding $10,000. Robin Johnson, the visual arts department chair, said that students receive 90% of any sale of their work, while the rest goes towards funding the gallery.

Johnson said most professional galleries split commission 50/50 between the artist and the gallery.

The exhibition was tightly packed for most of the night, with much of the crowd waiting outside while they grabbed snacks and mocktails offered by the gallery for opening night.

“I’ve never had a chance to be in a gallery before, so getting that gallery experience, and the fact it’s a juried gallery experience, has been amazing,” said Audrey Jeffers, a 21-year-old business and art major. “It makes me want to create even more art.”

Jeffers said she recently landed a story-boarding job for an independent project in Sacramento, thanks to contacts she made through her art projects at CRC.

Other artists said they had made useful networking connections through their participation in the school’s galleries.

Krystal Gurrola, a 19-year-old history major who wasn’t participating in the juried exhibition, said seeing other student’s art presented was motivating for her.

“These are students. It’s not like people up in the industry,” said Gurrola. “So it’s interesting to see where everybody is at and it’s really inspiring.”

The juried exhibition is scheduled to run from April 18 through May 9 and will be open to visitors Tuesday through Thursday from 12-4 p.m. in the art gallery, according to the website.