Show Off Your Talents in the Student Showcase!

By Abigail Julias

Whether through displaying your art, performing a scene from a play, or showcasing your scientific projects, if you’ve got something you learned or researched at SUNY Niagara you want to show off, the Student Showcase is open to all students! Thousands of dollars are awarded each year to the top projects in several categories, with a $1000 Grand Prize given to the top project.

Started by Dr. Matthew Clarq alongside a group of volunteers, the SUNY Niagara Student Showcase has been a reoccurring event since the first showcase in 2018, with the Lewis Library taking over management of the showcase in 2023. Each year, the prize money for the showcase is provided through donations from faculty, staff, administrators and community members.

Projects can be done by yourself or in a group, alongside a faculty mentor who will help you out with your project. Your Faculty Mentor will aid you in filling out your Student Showcase application, guide you through and help you refine your project, and eventually submit your project once it’s complete. A Faculty Mentor is required to participate in the Student Showcase, but if you don’t have any faculty in mind to mentor you, reach out to a librarian — they’ll help find you a mentor.

Students have multiple categories to choose how to present their project: Poster Projects, Table Projects, Art Exhibition, or Performances. The Art Exhibition categoryis best suited for 2D or 3D artwork such as paintings or sculptures, the Reading or Performances category provides you with 5-10 minutes to dictate a performance or reading, Poster Projects will display your research paper or presentation in poster format on a wall, and Table Projects provide a table for projects with multiple parts. Specific display requirements such as easels or pedestals for art exhibitions or a podium for performances can be provided upon request.

For those interested, applications are currently open at sunyniagara.edu/showcase/apply/. For your application and showcase, you’ll need to write an abstract: a short overview highlighting the key points of your project in 200 words or less. The contents of abstracts vary by project, but successful abstracts often touch on the background, significance, or conclusions of your project. What question is your project trying to answer? What was the motivation for this project? Your Faculty Mentor will assist you in creating the perfect abstract for your project. Once you’ve applied, you’ll be added to a Brightspace class which will

The next Student Showcase will be held on April 23^rd, 2026. Even if you don’t take part in the showcase directly, all attendees will be able to vote on their favorite project, with the most popular project winning the People’s Choice Award.

More information can be found at sunyniagara.edu/showcase/.