Bates College announced on April 9 that its eleven graduating studio art and visual culture students will showcase their thesis projects in the exhibition “At the Table: Senior Thesis Exhibition 2026” at the Bates Museum of Art, opening with a reception on April 17. The show will remain open through May 30.
The annual senior thesis exhibition is an important event for both students and the college community, offering a rare opportunity for undergraduates to display their work in a professional museum setting. Carrie Cushman, director of the Museum of Art, said, “A six-week exhibition in a professional museum is a truly remarkable opportunity for the students at Bates — an opportunity that they live up to with equal parts professionalism and ambition. For our part, hosting the show is a highlight of the year as a time when the community gathers together to celebrate and learn from our students.”
Preparation for this exhibition spans two semesters. In fall, Professor Cat Balco leads coursework focused on research into artistic practices and idea development. Students also collaborate with Visiting Assistant Professor Michel Droge to learn about framing and installing artwork. The winter course centers on synthesizing these ideas into finished pieces ready for public viewing. Associate Professor Carolina González Valencia said, “We as artists engage in research in many different ways.” She added that embracing uncertainty is central to creative growth: “Seeing them struggle with the uncertainty is very beautiful because it’s in that uncertainty that they start finding themselves, finding their voice and trusting it to start building their ideas.”
The eleven featured seniors employ diverse media including painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, ceramics, mixed-media embroidery, interactive games using coding and 3D printing, hand-built stoneware vessels inspired by nature’s forms and symbolism, self-portraiture exploring body-landscape boundaries through photography during Maine’s off-season coastlines; works investigating memory through inherited textiles or family photographs; tunnel books critiquing modern consumption; anatomical drawings combining species’ bones; among others.
González Valencia described displaying student work publicly as “something very beautiful — that the students get to experience what it’s like to actually put it out there and have people experience it and have their own meaning about it.” The title “At the Table” was chosen collaboratively by participants who wanted each artist’s unique perspective recognized within this shared forum.
As preparations conclude ahead of opening night on April 17 at 5 p.m., faculty say they look forward to seeing how viewers interact with each piece — reflecting not only student achievement but also broader questions about identity formation through creative practice.
