An annual photography exhibition that features the work of Southern Illinois University Carbondale students, faculty and staff starts Saturday, March 29, at Cedarhurst Center for the Arts in Mount Vernon.
The 33rd annual exhibition of new work features art from more than 20 photographers, including 15 undergraduate students, three SIU faculty members and four alumni whose experience ranges from beginner to professional fine art and commercial photography.
The free exhibition in the Mitchell Museum Beal Corridor Gallery runs from March 29 to June 15 and will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. On March 29, the museum’s “Gather at the Galleries” opening reception from 5-7 p.m. will feature the SIU exhibition with three other galleries. The cost that evening is $10 for the public and free for Cedarhurst members.
The SIU exhibition includes a portrait of celebrated musician Billie Eilish by Josh Sanseri — a two-degree SIU Carbondale photography alumnus who is a professor and photography department chair at Santa Monica College — along with a 360-degree riverscape of Tower Rock when the drought-stricken Mississippi River was at its lowest level in October 2024, taken by Daniel Overturf, a retired SIU photography professor with the School of Art and Design.
In addition to Overturf, other SIU faculty whose work is featured are Alison Smith, an assistant professor of practice in photography/intermedia arts, and Antonio Martinez, an associate professor of photography/intermedia arts and the School of Art and Design’s head of undergraduate studies. Students who are participating are in Martinez’s and Smith’s classes.
“No matter the level of photo expertise, chosen genre and subject matter, it’s a pure joy to see the range of photographic work among young and experienced photographers from SIU,” Martinez said.
The SIU exhibition is dedicated to the late David Gilmore, a retired SIU cinema and photography professor and former department chair who passed away in January 2025.
