WKU News

Victoria Layne, a 2018 WKU Art graduate, has been playing a major role in the WKU Art Department this past year. When former Art Gallery Director Kristina Arnold was promoted to the head of the art department, Layne was recruited and put in charge of managing WKU’s Gallery, where she curates and promotes art exhibits created by current students.

“The biggest challenge is figuring out how to engage the community,” said Layne, “not just WKU students and faculty, but also Bowling Green as a whole.”

Layne has been finding new ways to use her experience at WKU to help make the exhibits engaging for students.

“Being that I graduated very recently, I have a student perspective still, so I try to keep that in mind when I’m thinking about what would students like to see in the gallery, what would faculty like to see in the gallery, and how do I connect interdisciplinary works in the exhibits,” said Layne.

Layne’s newest project for the WKU gallery is the Art Alumni Exhibition, set to be put on display next year.

“I noticed there’s not really a network for alumni in the art department. I’ve noticed that film and photojournalism have an alumni network that’s a little more established,” said Layne. “We were trying to think of ways to engage alumni with our current students because I think current students could use some guidance about how to use their art degree in the real world.”

From there, Layne came up the idea of bringing back alumni to show off the art work they’ve created since their graduation. Layne’s main hope, however, is for the art department alumni to form a stronger network that can benefit incoming art students.

“It’s all about creating a little community where people can network, have fun, and show off their art,” said Layne.

The Art Alumni Exhibition is currently calling for art from art alumni. If you are an alum of the art program and interested in having your work displayed, email your contact information, degree, an image of your work, and website link (if applicable) to Victoria Layne at art@wku.edu. #PeopleofWKU