Santa Monica College's Emeritus Art Gallery will host a free online opening reception Oct. 23 for the Emeritus Student Calligraphy Exhibition 2025, featuring achievements in calligraphy by older adult students.
The exhibition opens online Thursday with a live Zoom virtual launch event from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at smc.edu/emeritusgallery, where a link will provide direct access to the opening reception.
Emeritus Gallery Curator Jesse Benson and calligraphy instructor Janet Martorello will host the reception, featuring student calligraphers discussing their work and a question-and-answer session with artists.
The exhibition showcases colorful artworks ranging from traditional execution to original visual stylizations, organized in collaboration with Martorello. The online display at smc.edu/emeritusgallery presents an enormous range of calligraphic approaches.
"Janet has done an amazing job inspiring her students to participate in our first dedicated calligraphy exhibition in years," Benson said. "Within each work is play between image, style, and the possible meanings of selected text."
Martorello noted that adult students "come with varied skills and interests in their backgrounds and further extend them as we gather in a like passioned community of mark makers and Calligraphers."
The online exhibition will be available 24 hours daily after 5 p.m. Oct. 23 at smc.edu/emeritusgallery. The link directs viewers to the exhibition album on a Facebook page open to public viewing without requiring a Facebook account.
SMC's Emeritus program, founded in 1975, offers more than 120 noncredit adult education classes serving over 3,000 students annually.
More information is available at smc.edu/emeritusgallery or 310-434-4306.
Edited by SMDP Staff