By Lookout Staff

March 4, 2025 -- Santa Monica College (SMC) will hold an online exhibition this month showcasing a wide variety of photographs taken by students in the school's highly touted Emeritus program.

Sentinels by Cindy Sanchez Mattson (Courtesy SMC)

The 2025 Annual Student Photography Exhibition of works ranging in style from realistic to abstract to impressionistic taken around the world will be presented Thursday, March 13.

A free, live Zoom Virtual Launch Event will be held online from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. A link at smc.edu/emeritusgallery takes guests directly to the exhibition’s opening reception.

Hosted by Emeritus Art Gallery Curator Jesse Benson, the reception includes "a live scroll through the exhibition and a discussion between Benson and several of the exhibit's photographers about selected images," organizers said.

“In addition to classic types of photographic captures, this year’s participants have pushed into experimental digital media approaches,” Benson said.

“The show documents amazing moments and experiences from across the globe while showcasing the technical prowess of our student body.”

The exhibit presents the work of 32 students and can be viewed online at any time after 5 p.m. on March 13 by going to smc.edu/emeritusgallery and clicking the 2025 Annual Emeritus Student Photography Exhibition link.

The link takes viewers directly to the exhibition album on a Facebook page that is open to public viewing (Facebook account not necessary).

The SMC Emeritus program was founded by SMC in 1975 as a noncredit program to "serve the lifelong learning interests of older adults."

The program offers more than 120 noncredit adult education classes and special programs that serve more than 3,000 students each year.