Student Art on Display in Regis Hall

As the home of the Office of the President, Regis Hall is a hub of activity, hosting meetings with campus leaders, faculty, staff, students and visitors. For the past three years, it has also been the home to some of Saint Joseph’s finest student art.

Painting, photography and ceramics by student artists is displayed throughout the first floor of the building. University President Mark C. Reed, Ed.D., says that he reached out to the art department to start the program in 2017 because of how closely artistic endeavors relate to the University’s Jesuit mission.

“Art, whether it takes form in painting, photography or performance, awakens in our students a creativity that enables them to develop a greater sense of self,” he says. “It also demonstrates a level of vulnerability: When you allow yourself to be vulnerable, as artists do, you see things differently and perhaps more fully.”

The pieces that are displayed in Regis Hall are hand-selected by Jeanne Bracy, Saint Joseph’s gallery coordinator. The entire collection is refreshed each semester.

Bracy says that she features work from students who are identified by art professors or who have displayed their art in the student gallery in Boland Hall , but also finds many pieces by just perusing the University’s art studios.

“Because most students store their work on campus, I frequently go around looking through student cubbies,” she says. “I look for work that is exceptionally designed or crafted, and that would pair well with other pieces I find. I will leave tags on the work asking the student to contact me about possibly exhibiting their work in Regis.”

One of the joys of the process, Bracy says, is finding good work from students who are new to a certain medium, or even to art overall.

“I typically don’t know the students whose art I select, and I find it very interesting when I see that I've selected work made by students taking their first art class,” she says. “They are pleasantly surprised to hear that they've been selected, because many times, they think that their work is not gallery worthy.”

Christine Torrey ’20, a double major in marketing and art and art history, painted “Mercy, Madness and Grace” in a class during the fall semester. The piece, which depicts a woman in a white dress against a field of blue, hangs at the base of the stairs in Regis Hall.

“Saint Joseph’s art department is a kind of hidden gem,” Torrey says. “We have incredibly talented faculty and a diverse selection of art courses. My artistic talents have been pushed during my classes here, and I have grown so much as an artist. It feels amazing to receive the recognition of this by having my art displayed in such an important building on campus.”

Visitors to Regis Hall, Reed says, find themselves drawn to the art.

“They are amazed by the talent displayed through the work and often have questions or want to take more time looking at it,” he says.

Reed notes that, while he’s not necessarily an educated critic, he finds that studying the pieces each semester is rewarding.

“Art speaks to different people in different ways and in that, there is some form of beauty for everyone to enjoy,” he says. “When I look at the pieces done by our students, I feel a great sense of pride. The student who created one of the charcoal sketches could be the same student who spends hours peering into a microscope in a science research lab, travels into Center City to intern with a marketing firm, volunteers with Project H.O.M.E. or gives her all on the field hockey pitch. That’s what a Saint Joseph's education is all about.”