The Rocket

Issue date: 11/16/07 Section: Focus

Media Credit: Aaron Good Jesse Seybert, a senior fine arts major, will be presenting her work in a senior exhibition at the Martha Gault Art Gallery in Maltby Center. Seybert's art premiere will be Nov. 26 from 6 to 8 p.m. [Click to enlarge]

At the beginning of the school year, students activated their new IDs at Maltby Center, but few may know that there is also an artistic "diamond in the rough" hidden among all the computer equipment.

The Martha Gault Art Gallery is also found at Maltby Center, which frequently hosts student and local artists' work.

In addition to being a place where senior art majors can display their works, the gallery also brings in professional artists to speak about and show their projects, and remains free and open to the public.

While not many know about it, the gallery has been open for longer than current gallery director and assistant professor in the art department, Katherine Mickle, can remember.

"The history is too long to know when it opened originally," said Mickle. "But to the best of my knowledge, the gallery has always been a part of the art department facilities."

The gallery has been shuffled from building to building on campus and currently resides in Maltby. It was moved there in January 2006. While the space is awaiting renovation, temporary walls have been put in place for display purposes.

It was named for Martha Gault, a professor and art department chairperson for many years.

Gault, who was influential in the expansion and growth of SRU's art department, was involved in the department for nearly 30 years before retiring in 1968.

Since then, the gallery has hosted a variety of student and professional artwork.

"We average five to six shows by professional artists per academic year," Mickle said. "We also have an annual juried student exhibition in the spring semester."

The juried exhibition is judged by a professional artist outside of the university and will be taking place from March 26 to April 10 this year.

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