E.V.E. Exhibition - Valdosta State University

Gallery Hours: Monday-Thursday: 10am-5pm, Friday: 10am-3pm (Admission is free of charge)

VSU’s Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery and Martha G. Smart Gallery are located on the first floor of the Fine Arts Building, at the intersection of Brookwood Drive and Oak Street.

@VSUMaranvilleGallery

E.V.E.

To suffer is to live. To thrive is to live. These two concepts form the experience of all living things. Neither has substance without the other. We all exist on a rickety rollercoaster heaving itself between these two states, to experience incredible views from up high and stomach-churning lows as we reach, what feels like, a catastrophic crash. Yet we survive. The people around us, our neighbors, and you. So many opportunities to give in. To give up. To make the decision that no new high is worth the potential crushing low that inevitably follows. Why? It’s not to be a good student with impeccable grades. How much will those A’s mean in 10 years without any real lessons learned? It's not to show off, that is for sure. We can throw the biggest fireworks show of creativity to millions and still feel an isolation that no one else knows. It's because there is always hope that the future will be better. Hope that the dark night will end eventually, and the new dawn will bring better tidings. The world has seen its fair share of dark nights in these past four years: a pandemic that killed millions and changed how humanity operates, a recession on par with the 2008 recession, multiple hurricanes with unexpected levels of devastation. And yet these students persevered. They are here, presenting themselves as they are, released from any burdens about what their art should be. The past has shown them what life is made of. Previously believed truths changed overnight, social expectations questioned. They make their own truths now, and one solid truth for them is that their art is theirs to express. The world may change and shift, but the concept of self is something that cannot be taken from them. Regardless of what happens they will still be here to see a new dawn.