Art students at Asbury University will be in the Art Annex on Feb. 26 from 3:30–5:30 p.m. not to take a written exam for midterms, but to stand beside their artwork and present their developing creations.
The Art and Design Midterm Critique, held each semester, serves as a formal academic assessment for students enrolled in studio courses. Instead of traditional exams, students working in disciplines such as painting, sculpture, ceramics and photography present their work-in-progress pieces and receive direct feedback in a gallery-style setting.
The critique functions as the visual equivalent of a midterm exam and is a required component for various upper-level studio courses, particularly Art Seminar (ART 350 and ART 450). These seminars prepare students for the department’s capstone requirement, a solo senior exhibition.
“Basically, these are the students who are getting ready to do their senior shows, which is the capstone requirement for our department, to do a solo exhibit of artwork,” said Keith Barker, a photography professor and gallerist who teaches the seminar course.
While the seminar is often associated with seniors, Barker said many participants are juniors and sometimes even sophomores.
“Pretty much, the purpose of the seminar is to prepare you for your senior thesis and your senior, like, art show,” said senior art major Grace Garrison. “The biggest requirement for the seminars is you’re spending eight to ten hours in your studio working on your art and forming your art thesis.”
Part of that preparation includes both a midterm and a final critique. During these events, all art faculty are invited, and the critique is open to Asbury’s entire student body.
“As an art student, they really encourage you to go to those [critiques] and give feedback on the art you see there and kind of encourage just our students,” said Garrison.
Barker described the midterm critique as a department-wide review designed to push students beyond their comfort zones while remaining constructive.
“The art faculty will come in, and they’ll say, ‘Hey, this is great, why did you do this?’ ‘Maybe you should look at this artist,’” said Barker.
Unlike final exhibitions, the midterm critique focuses on artwork that is still in development, or showcases a few finished pieces as students work on creating more.
Students also prepare a brief verbal explanation of their work.
“They call it, like, the elevator speech,” Garrison said. “You should have, your 30 seconds to say, ‘this is what my art is about, and this is what I’m working toward.’”
Garrison, who works primarily in watercolor and pen and ink, said her current body of work centers on overlooked details.
“My artwork is gonna be remarks on the unremarkable,” said Garrison. “Finding simple everyday things that people might overlook and putting that in the light of what is truly meaningful in life.”
Barker said the critique process prepares students not only for their exhibitions, but for professional artistic practice beyond graduation. He emphasized that the critique helps students learn how to present and defend their work before a public audience.
Midterms across Asbury’s campus often involve academic exams, but the Art and Design Midterm Critique highlights a different model of assessment, as students refine their work ahead of final exhibitions later in the semester.
