Post published:November 30, 2018

Exhibit Inspired by Teachings of MSU Professors Travels to Ireland

Starting at Michigan State University and traveling nearly 4,000 miles around the world, the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology in Galway, Ireland, hosted a photography exhibit at its Center for the Creative Arts and Media that showcases the work of the 127 photographers from 39 countries who were students of the first Photography Specialization course, taught by MSU Professors Peter Glendinning, College of Arts & Letters, and Mark Sullivan, College of Music, through the global online learning portal Coursera.

The exhibit features a diverse compilation of photographs that represent the skills learned and work completed as part of the five-course specialization, titled Photography Basics and Beyond: From Smartphone to DSLR.

Although the coursework isn’t applicable toward a degree, students receive a co-branded certificate from MSU and Coursera after completing the specialization. Since its launch in February 2016, more than 100,000 students have completed the course.

Two men standing next to each other looking at pictures in a photo exhibit — Professors Peter Glendinning (left) and Mark Sullivan (right) look at the photography exhibit on display at Kresge Art Center on Michigan State University’s campus in the fall of 2016.

Jacinta Moore, an Honors Contemporary Art student at Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, was the driving force behind the exhibit. She was among the first class to complete the Photography Specialization in September 2016 and has maintained contact with Glendinning and Sullivan since then. It was Moore who worked to bring the traveling exhibit to Ireland.

“Following a truly educational and positive experience from the photography program delivered by Professors Glendinning and Sullivan, I always hoped to bring the exhibit to Ireland,” Moore said. “Thanks to the Centre for Creative Arts and Media (CCAM) campus, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, I was able to make this aspiration transpire.”

Two women and a man standing in front of photos hanging on a white wall — Celine Curtin, Head of Centre, Jacinta Moore, Student and Curator, Donal Haughey, Head of Film and Documentary

The traveling exhibit was on display at the Centre for Creative Arts and Media, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, from November 12-30, 2018, and now thanks to Celine Curtin, Head of Centre, it will continue its global journey to another Institute of Technology in Ireland in early 2019.

“We could not be happier about, or more grateful for, the opportunity to share the works in person with students, faculty, and visitors in Ireland,” Glendinning said.

The exhibit had its premiere at MSU’s Kresge Art Center during the fall 2016 semester. For more information on the exhibit, read the article on it posted in November 2016, titled 127 Students, 39 Countries, One Photography Exhibit.