From the awarding of scholarships, to exchanging art work with students in Michigan, to the formation of new clubs, to guest lecturers and a variety of art exhibits, City College’s Art Department is a busy and creative place.

“It’s just awesome as ever,” said Printmaking Instructor Stephanie Dotson. “The quality of students here just keeps getting better, even though it was great when I got here.”

The entire Art Department faculty will meet next week to decide which students will receive up to eight scholarships the department has to award. Scholarships range from $150 to $5,000 for the Eli Luria Honorary Scholarship in Studio Art. Student portfolios have already been submitted.

“The hardest part is that we wish we had enough money to give some to everybody,” said Art Department Chair Nina Warner. “There’s just never enough.”

But there are no shortages of opportunities, not even nationally. The Intermediate Printmaking class is participating in a nationwide exchange program with the University of Michigan.

Students across the country submit 13 identical copies of their original art. One will become a part of Michigan’s permanent collection, an honor students can include in their resumes.

The other 12 will become part of the collection of 12 other participants, meaning each City College student will receive 12 works created by 12 other artists.

This is not the first year the program has been in place, but it is the first time City College students are participating. Other Art Department firsts include the new Printmaking Club.

“The focus is to introduce printmaking to the community,” said Art major Chad Evans.

He is the president and driving force behind the newly created Printmaking Club, which hopes to demonstrate that printmaking is more than just silk-screening.

“We have a great bunch of people,” said Art student Ana Fagan. “We want to share our love of art and make the club a community resource as well.”

The group is looking for ways to help worthy organizations raise money, and also for students to share and sell their work in venues off campus.

“Students continue to surprise professors with their ability to express their ideas visually,” said Dotson.

But students aren’t the only ones expressing ideas. There are three more lectures in the Art Department’s Fine Arts Lecture Series.

Randall Stout will speak March 17 on architectural challenging conventions while transforming light, shadow, form and material.

Randall Stout, a Los Angeles-based architect, has designed numerous buildings that are recognized as prominent architectural icons both within and beyond their respective communities.

The Atkinson Gallery presently hosts an exhibit of his work.

Tim Fisher will also lecture April 28. Fisher is a founding member of MK12, an internationally influential motion graphics company out of Kansas City.

His firm recently created an Almond Joy spot, and has previously produced animated vignettes for The Beatles. They are presently working with Harmonix on a piece for Green Day, which, according to their Web site, will be released later this year.

All lectures begin at 4:30 and are held in the Humanities Building room H220.

Warner said that every semester they try to host at least four guest lecturers. The arts budget pays for the speeches, but they are open to everyone. The hope is to expose students to different kinds of art.

The lecture series and the exhibits in the Atkinson gallery are other means the Art Department uses to expand on community understanding and access to top quality art.

There are six exhibitions of contemporary art each academic year in the Atkinson Gallery. Great effort is made to feature a wide range of styles and mediums. The final exhibit each spring is the Annual Student Exhibition, which debuts April 16.

“For me the most energetic and fun exhibit of the year is the student show,” said Warner.

Every student enrolled in a class within the Art Department is allowed to submit two works. Even Art history students are encouraged to contribute their artwork.

Every entry is eligible to win one of the many awards given. The Bookstore each year donates a large number of prizes, usually art supplies, which are awarded along side of more traditional honors.

The juror of this year’s student show is Dan Connally, a painter and professor at UCSB’s College of Creative Studies. Connally is also the third remaining speaker in the lecture series on April 7.

The Juror decides not only which works are displayed, but also the awards that are given out.

“He’s a really great guy, very soft spoken,” said Warner. “A lot of us come through UCSB, and we’re always glad to have the connection so they can see what our students are doing.”

And there are oh so many things our art students are doing.