Juror’s Statement & Biography

Juror’s Statement

Serving as a juror for an art exhibition/competition is not an easy task, although it is a privilege to experience works in a competitive setting in a wide range of media and styles.

As far as this particular jurying experience is concerned, the submitted work does not have unity of content or style. Some of the work certainly reflects the turbulent time that we have experienced since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and individual art practices in two- and three-dimensional works with various conceptual and technical backgrounds; however, the passion in the works of these artists was palpable.

Congratulations to all participating artists!

Mika Cho

Juror Biography

Throughout her career, Dr. Cho has adopted a four-pronged approach to her work: pedagogy, research, creative activity and academic governance. She joined the faculty at California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) immediately after earning her doctorate in Art Education and Educational Administration from Illinois State University. Prior to that she completed her MFA in Industrial Arts at Sook Myung Women’s University, Korea. For a decade as a visiting scholar at Kunstuniversität Linz in Austria, she taught, curated exhibitions and worked as an educational consultant.

From 2013 to 2017 she served as the chair of Cal State LA’s Department of Art. In 2017 she received dual appointments: one as Special Assistant to the President for the Arts and another as Director of the University’s Fine Arts Gallery (now the Ronald H. Silverman Fine Arts Gallery). As director, she has successfully engaged the gallery not only in the university and local communities, but also in the global art communities beyond our region. Since her appointment, visitors to the gallery have grown to average 12,000 people per year, and the gallery was named through a very generous endowment from the Silverman family.

She is an art educator, researcher, educational consultant, curator and visual artist. In the latter capacity, she has been invited to exhibit at numerous museums and galleries. Her research interests are in art-related and educational issues, which she shares through publications and extensive conference presentations, nationally and internationally.