When the university moved to virtual instruction for the remainder of the semester, the College of Design no longer could host several exhibitions that were scheduled after spring break in Gallery 181 on the Design building's main level and at the Design on Main gallery in downtown Ames. To accommodate requests to share students' work in a virtual environment -- including both planned exhibitions and new coursework developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic -- the college adapted the Modula Image Gallery plugin for WordPress to create Gallery 181V.
The virtual gallery launched in mid-April with examples of work by students in an interdisciplinary studio expressing ideas about social distancing and the built environment. The site also includes "Ground Zero: 2020 BFA Senior Exhibition," work by graduating seniors in integrated studio arts; and "Shards & Scraps: A Reflection on Personal Connections to Glass Vessels and Food," the master's thesis exhibition by integrated visual arts (IVA) graduate student Sarah Godfrey.
The Fall 2019 Rome Show, Spring 2020 IVA graduate exhibit and MFA thesis exhibition by IVA graduate student Cameron Gray will be added soon.
Now that the virtual gallery format exists, the College of Design can easily share work by students and faculty from specific classes and projects as well as traditional curated exhibitions.