Eight senior art students will present their work at the McEachern Art Center in downtown Macon for the Art and Design Department’s 2026 Senior Art Exhibition April 10-21.
Participating students honed in on their artistic interests and planned their projects in a professional practices in art and design course last semester. They have been creating their final pieces in a senior exhibition seminar this semester.
Lecturer of Art and Director of the McEachern Art Center Johnny Cohen worked closely with students as they near exhibition time.
“My favorite part about working with seniors is their passion,” Cohen said. “They are excited, motivated, dedicated and they have dreams and aspirations that really come to light when they are learning and engaging with the art world.”
The class collectively determines the show's theme each year, creating a cohesive framework for all the pieces. This year’s theme delves into the "corporeal" and the “embodied” as the students interpret the thematics and engagements of the body. Students collaborate to organize the exhibition events and design promotional flyers, media content and gallery installations for the show.
“Every year, I get to see a new group of talented students support each other and bond with each other by doing what they love,” Cohen said.
Among the eight students exhibiting their work in April are Antonia Perciaccante ‘26, Fiona Cole ‘26, and Finn Curry ‘26.
Curry is an art and media studies double-major pursuing a double-minor in English and film studies. Curry said he was the first to suggest the show's theme after noticing several of his classmates’ work explored physicality and physique.
“My projects deal with a marriage between topics of animal abuse and the queer experience through ceramics. Ceramics is an extremely personal and physical medium since you have to use your entire body to push and pull the clay,” he said. “I love to draw as well. Still, there's a level of distance between myself and a drawing that lets me be too comfortable, that lets me avoid feelings that ceramics doesn't because of the tactility.”
Perciaccante is an art major, chemistry minor and is on the pre-anesthesia track. She said one of her favorite parts of being in the senior seminar class was its collaborative nature.
“I am constantly surrounded by other artists,” Perciaccante said. “I can ask for their input if I ever need to see my work through someone else's eyes.”
She said the seminar class allowed her to incorporate her passions into one body of work.
“The art world and medicine are both very important to me, so this class has been a way for me to combine them,” Perciaccante said. “My focus for my part of the show is expression in anatomy and art in medicine.”
Cole is an art major and communication studies minor. She interpreted the theme of “embodiment” through the lens of a dancer.
“For me, embodiment means reclaiming my body from other people’s projections. I used to be afraid to fully express myself, especially through dance, because I was worried about judgment or being misunderstood,” Cole said. “My work explores that inner transformation.”
The opening reception will take place on April 10 at 6 p.m. and the closing reception will take place on April 21 at 6 p.m. at the MAC. The closing reception will coincide with Mercer’s Bear Day, the annual senior capstone project and research presentation day.
“The artistic genius of each of our seniors will be on full display at the show,” Cohen said. “Everyone’s creations reflect their unique interpretation of our show’s theme, and we’re excited to see everything come together into a cohesive exhibition.”
Hannah Mock ‘28 is a communications and graphic design double major at Mercer and is currently a staff writer for The Mercer Cluster. When she’s not at a coffee shop catching up on her studies, Hannah is working on her latest artistic projects or out hiking a new nature trail. Her favorite things to write about include arts and culture, social issues and community accomplishments.
