Simmons students gathered in the Trustman Gallery on February 1 to sell and admire artwork at the student art sale. 

A variety of art, from prints to jewelry, drew customers in. A few mingled with the students selling art, browsing carefully and asking questions. The students were set up in a square around the room. Some shared table space with other artists. 

One student, first-year Jasmine Day, brought her camera so she could sell professional headshots. “I figure that a lot of people around our age are making LinkedIns, trying to get internships… and are in need of a professional picture,” she explained. 

As students approached Day, she would talk with them for a few minutes before grabbing her camera and posing them. She used the Trustman Gallery wall, which was lined with student art, as a backdrop. Eliana Galazzi, a first-year and customer at the art sale, purchased photos with the intention of using them as professional headshots on her LinkedIn.

This event marks the second student art sale Simmons has put on. The first was in May 2023, after students approached Kyle Mendelsohn, the Events and Gallery Specialist for the Gwen Ifill College, and asked about the possibility of selling their art.

 “I think the student art sale is a really great opportunity for students who are directly involved with the arts at Simmons to sell their work,” he said in a Zoom interview with the Voice.

Some of the students selling their artwork also had work on the walls of the Gallery for the “Kaleidoscope Visions: Fall Studio Exhibition” in the week prior. Christine Spinosa, a senior Political Science major, was selling two prints that were also on display as part of the exhibition. 

Spinosa began making their prints for a print-making class at Simmons in the fall semester of 2023. 

Across the room, Yana Zaghlouo, a first-year Social Work major, was selling their ocean-inspired necklaces. Although they have been making jewelry for around four years, the student art sale was the first time they’ve sold their work in person. “I’ve done a little bit online, but it’s a lot harder online to make sales,” they said. 

Although this is only the second student art sale, Mendelsohn hopes there will be more in the future. “I look forward to this potentially becoming an annual event at Simmons,” he said.