Meet the 24-Hour Study Room Art Contest Winners
Creating meaningful study spaces for Aggies
Congratulations to the UC Davis undergraduate winners of the 24-Hour Study Room art contest: Sheridan Greene, Vivian Chang, Jubie Kennedy, Morgan Strong and Muxiao Wu!
Co-sponsored by the UC Davis Library and ASUCD Aggie Arts Committee, the art contest was open to undergrads last fall. Entrants were asked to submit a design concept for Shields Library’s 24-Hour Study Room on the theme “Celebrate Your Environment.”
Five artists were chosen from more than two dozen entries and each received a $75 gift card and a canvas to create their proposed piece, which ranged from garden and interior scenes with family pets, to memories, dreamscapes, and an “everything” bagel sandwich.
“I’m honored that my art was chosen for students to have in their environment while they are studying,” said Sheridan Greene, of their piece Dusk in Her Garden. “I was thinking about the environments that I continually go back to, like my family’s garden, and how my experience with this specific space has changed throughout my life, with different pets and different people.”
On February 12, friends and family of the artists, library staff, and Aggie Arts Committee members gathered to celebrate the artists at an art opening and reception in the 24-Hour Study Room.
It was so rewarding to see all of these pieces, which interpret our theme in such a beautiful variety of styles, displayed all together. We’ve been so excited to show off some of the creative talent we have on campus!”
— Madison Seeman, Aggie Arts Committee Chair
Years in the Making
The student art installation at Shields Library is the culmination of several years of persistence and a continued commitment to fostering creative opportunities on campus, according to former Aggie Arts Committee Chair and UC Davis alumna Emily Gavidia ‘24. After the ASUCD Aggie Public Arts Committee disbanded post-COVID, Gavidia re-established and rebranded the committee in 2022 as the Aggie Arts Committee.
“It’s just incredible seeing how this committee went from words on paper and student volunteers to eventually paid student workers, collaborative meetings with the library, and now this tangible collection of student expression,” said Gavidia. “It’s very inspiring.”
Gavidia also has a personal connection to the library; she worked on the interlibrary loan team as an undergraduate.
“It’s been such a joy to partner with the Aggie Arts Committee on this project,” added Robin Gustafson, head of the library’s Access and Delivery Services Department, who facilitated the library’s collaboration on the project with Alesia McManus, the library’s head of Student Services. “These amazing student art pieces truly enliven the space.”
Contest Winners and Their Selected Artworks
Aggies can view the artwork in person in the 24-Hour Study Room (current student ID required to enter).
Sheridan Greene, Dusk in Her Garden, oil on acrylic
Muxiao Wu, Cats
Vivian Chang, Where the Heart Is, oil on canvas
Morgan Strong, What’s Left Ain’t Right
Jubie Kennedy, Singularity, acrylic on canvas
