Instead of analyzing an individual art piece around Columbia, this post will be focusing on a well-known gallery in downtown Columbia. The Columbia Art League, or CAL for short, is a local artist gallery that holds the occasional art show and classes for those who sign up.
CAL is responsible for many local art events including Art in the Park, an art festival that attracts many artists both in Columbia and out of state. The program holds both weekly summer camps for ages five through 13 and art classes in the gallery itself. These classes are for people of all ages and allow other Artists to volunteer and lead those who want to learn how to paint, draw or sculpt.
I myself took some  their art classes as a child. It was a very enlightening experience for me; I made many friends how I still hold dear to my heart to this day. These classes were able to get me through the basics and teach me how to be the artist that I am today.
The Columbia Art League is a volunteer based organization. To gain profit and keep the gallery open, the art directors and heads of the gallery will host theme-based shows, where local artists can compete and sell their work. The art league is able to keep 20 percent of  profits gained when an investor buys a piece, giving the rest of the money to the artist. The cool thing about these shows is that they encourage students to submit work for these contests and compete against professionals. One such artist is senior Jadie Arnett.
On Friday, Jan. 18, Arnett was the only student artist to submit to the show. CAL will choose a theme for the shows to be based around. Arnett submitted her piece around the theme of “Indulge”. Competing in the show against professionals, Arnett came out of the show with an honorable mention ribbon pinned in place next to her work “Chicken Strip.”
[box title=”Q&A: Jadie Arnett Speaks” style=”soft” box_color=”#2bb673″ radius=”6″] What was your feeling for the whole CAL experience, when you heard you got Honorable Mention against all professional artists?:
“It was all very overwhelming. It was a surprise that I got in, but then when I arrived I saw that my piece had been selected for a fundraiser, and I thought that was really cool. Then when I got announced, it felt unreal because it was my first professional art show.”
What is CAL’s influence on Columbia?:
“I think CAL makes people think and see different points of views. When people go to the show, there are Pieces with different meanings to the same theme and it makes people think about what message the artist was trying to send.”
Will you want to submit a piece in a future CAL show?:
“I’ll submit to Art in the Park but none of the others because I don’t have any pieces that fit the show’s themes.”