Rowan hosts annnual StARTup gallery showcasing scholar images – The Whit

Rowan’s Creatives 230 and Photography Program hosted their annual “StARTup” Gallery, situated within the enterprise corridor on April 18, 2026. Where college students had been in a position to showcase their prints coming to life, creating that connection from their work to the viewers.  

The gallery serves to encourage neighborhood engagement, permitting guests to work together immediately with artists and achieve perception into their inventive processes, thereby additional strengthening appreciation for student-driven inventive expression on campus. Jenny Drumgooole is the artwork coordinator for the StARTup Gallery and has been concerned on this for practically 4 years. 

“So this is the fourth year we have been doing the gallery, with both the print sale and gallery exposition. The exposition will be up for a full year. Along with the print sale, all sales go directly to the students, and it’s very important to support student artists, especially since there is a need for more of them. Along with student artists who know how to fully activate their artistic abilities for the audience and bring it to life,” stated Drumgoole.     

While senior Sarah Agoston explains the best way the setup of prints and totally different items transitions into totally different themes and tones. Along with Agoston’s perspective on images and artwork as a complete. 

“For me personally, I think cameras are fascinating, and I really started to understand the camera and what’s behind the lens as a whole. I love colors, and I feel like that is evident in some of my pieces, even using an almost ombre tone,” stated Agoston.  “I’m a firm believer in color theory. But getting back to the gallery, every area has its own set vibe and domestic section, from themes displayed in the exhibit, whether it’s exploring soft masculinity to nature photos, they all hold unique meaning.”

While senior Ryleigh Walker holds an analogous ardour for images, as she is minoring in images and feels that artwork as a complete has such a deeper which means to it. 

“My main focus in photography is self-portraiture, along with conceptual stuff, stage settings within lighting studios, and I just feel like photography has always been a part of my life. I grew up always having access to a camera, but I have been studying photography for the last 10 years and just immersing myself in it. You can truly capture a great deal with photography and the arts as a whole,” stated Walker. 

Junior Peter Valentino approaches images with an emphasis on capturing authenticity, utilizing pure environments to focus on feelings and neglected particulars which can be discovered inside on a regular basis life.  

“I particularly like to focus on wilderness shoots and nature as a whole. Like my jellyfish photo, I went to the Adventure Aquarium, and I feel that nature speaks for itself with its effortlessness in its beauty. And I’m simply there to capture the rawness of nature and bring it to light through the lens,” stated Valentino. 

The StARTup Gallery continues to develop every year, highlighting rising scholar photographers and artists’ expertise whereas on the similar time displaying inventive minds, storytelling, and growth within the arts that coincide with Rowan’s inventive neighborhood.