As many as 12 artists will be chosen by a panel of community jurors from within the local art community, said Corinn VanWyck, arts program coordinator for the East Lansing Art Festival. The artists will have their work displayed at the East Lansing Art Festival, which is scheduled to be held May 22 and 23. VanWyck said the city offers the program as a way to give artists a chance to show their work free of cost.

“We offer booth space for free so they can present their work in a marketplace,” she said. “(They’ll) have the chance to interact with the audience and talk to buyers and experience an art festival atmosphere.”

Applicants must be students at a college, or be within two years of graduation from an art program.

All mediums are considered and simultaneous submissions are not accepted.

Studio art senior Spencer Corbett, who was one of five participants in the program last year, said having his art in the East Lansing Art Festival was an “incredible opportunity.” Corbett said he exhibited his paintings about college life and the irony in college lifestyles.

“It was a really good experience at that point in my career,” he said. “I got a lot of exposure — not so much in the art world — but to have the public see my artwork was really one of the key parts of the experience.”

Corbett said he was able to get exposure through online newspapers and word-of-mouth spread by those who saw and purchased his work.

“It was a fantastic feeling,” Corbett said. “I’d sold to family and friends before and it was nice to have someone really interested in my artwork. I’m taking my own artwork more seriously because other people took an interest.”

MSU alumna and printmaker Terry Scharf said she showcased her prints about home foreclosures last year.

“Some of the art I do is sad — (people) might not like how it looks,” Scharf said. “It’s sociopolitical commentary and I try to show what is going in my community. It was good for me to listen to what they (the community) thought.”

Some students, such as studio art freshman Kevin Martin, said they didn’t think they would benefit from the program at this point.

“Maybe in the future, but not now,” Martin said. “I’ve shown work to my friends, but right now I don’t think I have enough strong pieces to submit.”

Art education junior Jackie Olson said she heard about the program through her professor and that her experiences with festivals have been positive but varied.

“I’ve sold work before at the (Detroit Fesitval of the Arts),” Olson said. “Sometimes you just end up trading with other artists. The barter system is occasionally the best way to get your work out.”