A new group on campus aims to give students the experiences they need to pursue careers in art.

Studio art senior Minh-Hoa Le founded the Student Art League of Arizona after applying to show her work in the Union Galleries. She contacted classmates and friends to join her after she was accepted.

“”It started out just because it felt like, when we are students, we need to have support from each other to grow,”” said Le, who focuses on two-dimensional painting.

The group recently opened its first showing, “”Then, Now, and To Be,”” at the Union Galleries in the Student Union Memorial Center. The gallery features the work of eight artists, all of whom are UA students or alumni.

“”Our show was so fresh,”” said interdisciplinary studies senior Michelle Mistelske, who focuses on painting. “”There were really neat ideas that I haven’t seen out there in Tucson. It was very exciting.””

Plans for the show began in June. Most communication was done through email, though the artists met in person to plan some paintings.

“”We did work on collaborative pieces,”” said Caiomhín Shirey, a studio art student focusing on two-dimensional painting. “”A lot of us met and worked on those at the same time. That was fun. That was like the initiation, basically.””

Each artist has a separate collection of work in the gallery, which are all tied together by the theme of inspiring one another to pursue art. Le said many of her classmates change majors or quit art in lieu of more lucrative careers.

“”If it is somewhat de-motivating, we need to motivate ourselves to continue to be art students and continue to be art students in the future,”” she said. “”So there comes the theme.””

Some students said the group gave them the opportunity to show their work for the first time.

“”It’s actually been really great,”” said studio art senior Talia Bodnar, who focuses on painting. “”I’ve learned a lot. I’ve been working with a lot of older, more experienced artists.””

Members also said the process of planning the show helped with professional aspirations and showed them what it takes to be artist.

“”It’s the business side, which they don’t really concentrate on in art school at all,”” Shirey said. “”So this is an extracurricular thing that helped us gain experience.””

The show’s opening, which featured a panel discussion from professors, gave the artists the chance to have their work critiqued.

“”Well, it definitely exposes us,”” said studio art senior Gabriel Hopson, who focuses on two-dimensional painting. “”My experience with the show’s opening, we got to talk to a lot of people. More people than I would normally talk to about my own art.””

The group is unsure about its future plans but would like to continue to work together. They are discussing opening another show, applying for grants or working on a public mural.

“”We just have to brainstorm and see what falls in our lap,”” Shirey said.