RCSJ student art show in Millville showcases local talent and awards winners
More than 50 relatives, faculty and staff filled Millville’s Arts and Innovation Center as El Zielinski’s Self Medicated won Best in Show.
El Zielinski’s Self Medicated took Best in Show as 75 Rowan College of South Jersey student works filled Millville’s Arts and Innovation Center, turning a campus showcase into a public test of whether local art can lead to real opportunity. More than 50 family members, friends, faculty and staff attended the reception, giving the show the feel of both an awards night and a community checkpoint for young artists trying to build a future in Cumberland County.
The awards ceremony and reception ran Friday, May 8, 2026, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at 321 N. High St. in downtown Millville. RCSJ says the two-story Arts and Innovation Center offers 6,686 square feet of studio and gallery space, with the former Clay College on the first floor and the Fine Arts program and general education courses on the second. Its ceramics facilities include 15 pottery wheels, a glaze room, four kilns and two 3-D ceramic printers, making the building a working studio as well as an exhibition site.
The student show covered drawing, printmaking, painting and 3-D sculpture. Drawing awards went to Vanessa Ordonez-Figuera and Emily Avalar, with several honorable mentions also recognized. Printmaking honors went to Kevin Eang and Veronica Santos. Painting awards went to Jesus Lopez and Dylin Cho. In the 3-D and sculpture category, Zielinski and Tracie Muir were recognized alongside the top prize for Self Medicated.
Jackie Sandro-Greenwell, who directs RCSJ’s Fine Arts and Clay College, curated the exhibition. College leaders Brenden Rickards, Jim Piccone and Marcela Savelski attended and spoke about the role of the arts in student success and community life. Rickards underscored the college’s responsibility to support the students and communities it serves, while Piccone said art can stay with a person throughout life and remain part of a career or academic path.
The show also fit into a longer county investment in Millville’s arts district. The Arts and Innovation Center opened in March 2017 with a ribbon-cutting tied to a $6.4 million project led by the Cumberland County Improvement Authority. RCSJ says the gallery regularly hosts local and national artists and often lines up with Millville’s Third Friday events, keeping the building active as a classroom, gallery and public gathering place. Sandro-Greenwell has been involved since the Clay College idea first took shape, giving the program a long-running connection to the Millville Arts District and downtown.
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