Making Art in a Pandemic is a series of five virtual exhibitions (see individual galleries below) of new work by graduate and undergraduate students from the School of Art + Design at San Diego State University. These innovative sculptures, photographs, collages, drawings, and more were made while students were studying at home due to COVID-19. Making Art in a Pandemic reflects variously on students’ personal experiences, emotions that this new reality has exposed, and social and political responses to our current situation. We are deeply inspired by the many ways that our students have utilized creative practices and art-making to elicit hope and introspection during an unprecedented semester.

Instagram @sdsu_art and @sdsuartgalleries / Twitter @sdsu_art and @sdsugalleries/ Facebook @SDSUSAD and @SDSUARTGALLERIES

To read more about the artists and works in Making Art in a Pandemic, download the exhibition catalog, or view it on ISUU

Participating Artists

Main Gallery

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Ceramics II & III

Commemorative plates have been a longstanding way to memorialize events, people, and places. For this project,
students were challenged to create a set of commemorative plates in response to our unique time experiencing the
Covid-19 pandemic using clay or found objects such as paper plates. The results are the following works:

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Graphic Design II

Poster Pong:

Like an Exquisite Corpse, each image was made by two students collaboratively in a short timeline.

Each student received a secret word and made an image. They sent it to a designated classmate (without any explanation) who added typography to it based on what they understood the image to be. The results are the following works.

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Jewelry and Metals II & III

Spaces of Isolation:

Collaborative project between SDSU students and The University of Texas El Paso students:

Students were asked to reconsider the spaces we occupy and what they contain. They composed a series of jewelry pieces based on specific rooms in their house, using only materials found in the home. The results are the following works.

See more on Instagram: @artifacts.of.isolation

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Jewelry and Metals II & III

Responsible Radius:

Collaborative project between SDSU students and The University of Texas El Paso students:

Students designed and constructed wearables that measured/illustrated the recommended 6 feet for physical distancing. Now, as we are asked to keep at least 6 feet between ourselves and others, our ideas of personal space have changed. The results are the following works.

See more on Instagram: @artifacts.of.isolation

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