After some doubts and concerns due to the campus shutdown and COVID-19 pandemic, the James Kaneko Gallery at American River College debuted its annual student art competition online on April 27.

Since students won’t be able to visit the Kaneko Gallery because of the campus shutdown, Kaneko Gallery Director Patricia Wood, along with student Brad Carps and other interns from the gallery, scrambled to find a way to make it happen.

“There was a lot of uncertainty about whether an online student show would work. We almost didn’t do a student show,” Wood said in an email to the Current. “Trying to figure out the logistics was something I was stuck on. But I decided it was too important for the students to not have one. I didn’t want students to miss out on having their work seen by the community and I wanted to make sure we could find a way to give out prize money.”

This prompted Wood to approach Carps, who has a background in computer science, with the idea of taking the annual exhibition online. 

“I’ve been talking to Pat for a long time about the various ways online forms and databases can automate gallery work, and with this pandemic, this was my first major suggestion we decided to implement,” Carps said.

From there, Carps teamed up with fellow Kaneko student interns Patrick Beech, Jade Jacobs and Kaitlyn Berry to begin working on the website. 

“From the start, we made this a team collaboration, setting up a shared Google Site on the Los Rios apps account, creating a group chat on Facebook, and delegating and volunteering the various tasks that needed to be done,” Carps said. 

The next challenge for the Kaneko Gallery team was getting the word out to students and letting them know that the show was still happening, as well as provide information for any students that wish to compete in it. 

“We sent the form out to all of ARC and many faculty members emailed their rosters and posted on Canvas,” Wood said. 

According to Wood, 160 pieces of work were sent by more than 80 entrants.

The first round of awards are expected to be announced on May 8. Wood says the first set of awards will be: Dean’s Award, Presidents Award, and First, Second and Third Place.

To observe the artwork and see the award results, visit: https://sites.google.com/view/kanekoonlinegallery/