UCSB’s annual Undergraduate Art Show, scheduled for the week of June 8, will be moving from its customary home in the University Art Museum to the Old Gym this year due to construction.

The 2009 Undergraduate Art Show will be held June 8 through the 13th in the Old Gym, marking the first time the gallery has been held outside of the campus museum. The museum is currently undergoing a seismic retrofit, part of a larger plan to bring the Arts Building up to current earthquake safety requirements. The show, which displays artwork that undergraduate students have completed through the Arts Department, will be free and open to the public.

Adam Gross, a second-year film & media studies and Japanese major, attended last year’s show.

“The Undergraduate Art Show has always had some cutting-edge pieces of art,” Gross said. “I don’t think the change to the Old Gym will affect the show negatively; the focus will remain on the art itself. I’m pretty stoked to see what this year has in store. They had good food last year, too.”

Sasha Karlova, a third-year art studio major and an organizer of the event, said the artwork comes from a diverse collection of talents.

“The show is going to have paintings, drawings, sculptures, video works, artist books and more,” said Karlova. “The artwork will be delivered on June 1 and 2, but we have already seen most of the pieces. This year promises to be an amazing exhibition despite having to change locations.”

Jane Mulfinger, an Arts Department associate professor in charge of the show, said the entire arts complex on campus needs to update its safety standards, which is why the annual event was relocated.

“The entire Arts Building is going through a seismic retrofit in the next two years to bring it up to code for earthquake safety,” said Mulfinger. “Normally the Art Museum puts on an end-of-the-year Art Department undergraduate exhibition and does so beautifully. Since the regular schedule of museum events is disrupted by the upcoming moves, a group of undergraduate students are mounting the exhibition in an alternative space.”

Along with Karlova, the other undergraduates responsible for putting the show together are Allie Noman, Blaire Suding, Mike Kote, Ehsan Shirmohammadi and Elcin Joyner. The first day of the exhibition is June 8 and doors open at 3 p.m.