NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—On November 12, the Rutgers Mason Gross Galleries located in the Civic Square building in downtown New Brunswick wrapped up thier Undergraduate Annual Art Open.

The art display, titled “City and Myth,” featured a plethora of works by undergraduate artists and gave way to another independent undergraduate artist collaboration, titled “Hush-Hush,” featuring photographs taken by Mason Gross Seniors Joanna Papoulis and Randall Parker.

Featured artist Joanna Papoulis and she explained, “Randall and I realized there was a lot of similarities in our work after hearing others critique our photography separately.

“We began to discuss what our photographs focused on and quickly came to the conclusion that our work was speaking about personal subjects that we felt strongly about and had made our mission to do justice by.”

“The conversation became so inspired that the artists collaborated to create an exhibition together,” Papoulis continued.

“We decided on having our show be two separate series of self-portraits that give an intimate view on a different side of ourselves.

“My work specifically touches on my personal struggles that I’ve chosen to both work out and shed light on these issues that I know many other people face as well.”

Parker’s work has previously been featured in New Brunswick Today.

This latest showing is a testament to the Hub City’s ability to offer culture to local residents without prohibitvely high costs.

There are many free shows throughout the year and the gallery provides a venue for artists to hone their craft while providing a service for residents as well.

The gallery has weekday operating hours from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. No tickets are required and, as always, all of its exhibitions are open to the public.

Editor’s Note: Randall Parker is the brother of the author of this article.