Mercer County Community College’s (MCCC’s) James Kerney Campus (JKC) Gallery now presents an exhibit, “Homecoming 2021,” which showcases the works of photography students who graduated during the pandemic. The show runs through January 29, with a virtual and in-person artist reception on Saturday, December 11 from 5 to 8 p.m. The public is invited.

“Homecoming 2021” is a FujiFilm-sponsored collaboration between Booksmart Studio (Eric Kunsman) and Float Photo Magazine (Yoav Friedlander and Dana Stirling), along with JKC Gallery Director Michael Chovan-Dalton and artist Alanna Airitam. The show celebrates the hard-fought creative triumphs of students around the globe whose final years as undergraduate and graduate students were disrupted by the pandemic.

Chovan-Dalton said, “Typically, the final year of a student’s art program is filled with hope and possibilities, and while most institutions did a good job of providing students with alternative modes of learning and interacting, the past two graduating classes have had to settle for limited access to artist visits and delayed or remote thesis exhibitions and graduation ceremonies. ‘Homecoming 2021’ is our way of helping students continue their momentum forward to a fulfilling life in the arts.”

The free, open, worldwide call to “Homecoming 2021” invited 2020-2021 photography graduates — at the four-year and graduate level — to submit their work. All work will be published and select images will be exhibited at Mercer County Community College’s JKC Gallery. One student will be awarded a FujiFilm GFX 100S camera and lens donated by FujiFilm North America during the December 11 reception.

“The works selected for the exhibit feature graduate artists that span the globe,” said Chovan-Dalton. “This show represents as broad a range of talented recent photo graduates as we could fit on these walls. We wanted to be as inclusive as possible, limited mostly by wall and publication space. It is our hope that this work gets into the hands of those who can provide opportunities for these talented graduates.”

For more information about the artists, visit jkcgallery.online/homecoming-2021.

The JKC Gallery is located at 137 North Broad Street in Trenton. Hours are Mondays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. by reservation. To learn more about the show, the reception, and registration requirements, including Zoom links, visit JKCGallery.online.