The University of Maine at Presque Isle Fine Art Program will present one solo exhibition developed through the 2017-18 Fine Art Senior Thesis Exhibition course. The exhibitions is being hosted in Campus Center Room 112 (former Reed Gallery) in May.

The Fine Art Senior Thesis Exhibition, a six credit, academic-year-long course, is a capstone to the BFA program. The rigorous course of study is unique to most statewide BFA programs. The Senior Show allows enrolled students to have an experience similar to a graduate school environment. Students are required to prepare a body of work for the solo exhibition and defend it orally and in writing, in order to graduate.

The student featured this year is Arianna Forbes. Her show will open on May 3 and run through May 12; a reception will be held during the First Friday Art Walk on Friday, May 4, from 6-8 p.m., with a gallery talk at 6:30 p.m. In her show, titled The V Word, Forbes will “shine a light on men’s persistent use of demeaning and debauched language, highlighting the strength of women through the representation of the vagina as it emerges from under the multicolored layers of handwritten depraved statements.”

“I felt it necessary to be the voice for women out there who have been the subject of demeaning comments,” Forbes said. “I have chosen to no longer be apologetic for my femaleness and my femininity; that is why I chose to use the vagina as the symbol for my show. I want to be respected in all my femaleness because I deserve to be; all women deserve to be. I’ve put my heart and my soul into this show, and hope many choose to come see it.”

The Fine Art Department commends Forbes’ efforts in the capstone course. She has been responsible for all aspects of her exhibition, from making the frames and labels for the pieces, to advertising and promoting the show to the campus and community, to arranging for the art reception (including food and music), to developing the final artist’s statement, to preparing the gallery talk. As a final component of this year-long project, Forbes will turn in her final thesis, an in-depth research paper about her work and the art, artists that influenced it, and her aesthetic decisions.

For additional information, contact Hyrum Benson, UMPI Assistant Professor of Fine Art, at (207) 768-9441 or hyrum.benson@maine.edu. Please follow the UMPI Art Department on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UMPIAD and Instagram: @umpiart.