Sonoma State University’s Campus Art Committee has been responsible for collecting, maintaining, and distributing beautiful works of art across the campus for decades. Originally established as the Exterior Act Committee in 1987, the committee today oversees almost 1,400 pieces within the campus art collection.

A document sent by the Dean of Arts and Humanities and Art Committee member, Hollis Robbins, read that the charge of the committee is to, “Assist, advise, and recommend to the President and the University community by developing and maintaining policies, guidelines, and standards for the acceptance and display of visual art throughout the campus.”

As of today, the committee is made up of nine members led by the Director of the University Art Gallery and Chair of the committee, Jennifer Bethke.

“We make sure that in the committee there are art historians and subject matter experts,” said Robbins.

Meeting around once a month, the committee determines which artwork, donated, or gifted to the University, will be accepted, where it would be best displayed, and whether or not the University has the resources to maintain said artwork.    

One of the largest donations accepted by the Art Committee was the Imagery Collection, which was donated back in 2015 by Glen Ellen’s Imagery Estate Winery. The contemporary fine arts collection consisted of over 440 original pieces created by hundreds of different artists. The pieces were initially commissioned as wine labels and decorated bottles of wine from Imagery Estate Winery for over 35 years. Pieces from the collection can now be found all across the SSU campus. 

When asked why it is important that the University have an Art Committee, Senior Director of Development at the Green Music Center and committee member, Marge Limbert, said, “There is an opportunity, with our students, to engage in art and having a committee who can just give the yes or no on whether it fits the standards of what art we should take on helps us to manage the size of the collection. It helps us to make sure that we have the resources that we need to care for the collection. It’s a body of people thinking about all that goes into accepting art.”  

While COVID-19 restrictions have not affected the amount of art donations received by the University over the last year, they have had a large impact on the campus Art Gallery. The gallery itself has been closed since the beginning of the pandemic, however, like many aspects of life now, it has transitioned to a virtual setting.

As stated on the SSU Art Gallery Exhibitions webpage, “ART@CSU brings a selection of them [CSU art galleries] together in an online setting, to create a distanced community of CSU art and artists. The lively collection of works gathered here were chosen to highlight the remarkable diversity of approach and style among these artists. They serve to showcase the talent of CSU’s artist faculty, and to celebrate the importance of the art in this time of adversity.” 

While this virtual format has been limiting, it has also provided the opportunity for exhibitions, like ART@CSU, that couldn’t have been done within the gallery. 

SSU and the Art Committee have been provided with many works of art throughout the years, maintaining and sharing the beauty of these pieces with the community. Despite the ongoing pandemic, this year will be no exception. The work of the virtual art gallery with the help of the Art committee has made it easy, for those interested, to view art in a new setting while remaining safe.