Through two new initiatives, Student Council's Student Arts Committee hopes to increase the University community's appreciation of student-created art.
Tomorrow, the Committee will host an opening reception for Art on the Lawn, an effort to showcase student art in an easily accessible space. Scheduled to take place from 4 to 6 p.m. and held in Lawn rooms 16E, 10E, 43W, 45W, 19W, 55W and 13W, Art on the Lawn is one of multiple efforts to increase and facilitate appreciation of student art within the larger community.
"The whole point of this initiative is really to make art accessible to all students rather than just art students," Events Subcommittee Chair Cara Sanders said. She noted that the subcommittee oversaw much of the planning behind Art on the Lawn, first soliciting works from student artists and then matching submissions with Lawn residents who agreed to volunteer their rooms for the showcase.
Showcasing student art at such a central location might enable the event to be "something students can drop in and see on their way to class," Student Arts Committee Co-Chair Jenny Smith said. Moreover, the use of this non-traditional space also will demonstrate the lack of student gallery space available, Smith said.
The Student Arts Committee's upcoming Minds Wide Open event, meanwhile, scheduled to begin during the spring semester, has a similar goal of increasing the community's accessibility to student art.
The first of its kind in Virginia, Minds Wide Open is a statewide celebration of women in the arts and will feature works from a variety of artistic media. The Student Arts Committee, which is cosponsoring the event with the Arts & Sciences Council, will accept submissions until tomorrow.
In an attempt to increase awareness of these upcoming events, the Committee has streamlined the way it communicates with the University community with the weekly Art Connections newsletter, which compiles and color-codes a range of arts-related events on Grounds.
This effort to increase accessibility is in part a result of reduced participation from the wider community. Smith specifically noted an event last year that brought Tony Award-winning dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones to the University for a collaborative community project. Though designed as an interdisciplinary initiative that would include speakers, forums and significant scholarship, in addition to artistic endeavors, few non-art students participated in the event.
"That was a huge event and it made major inroads into how U.Va. does arts events, but it kind of went unnoticed by people who weren't immediately involved with the arts community, and that's a shame," Smith said.
The Committee hopes innovative initiatives, such as Art on the Lawn, will rectify this current problem of narrow participation.
"Interest in creativity is not limited just to the arts departments," Smith said.
Read More
Dean Rucker honored with Z Society’s highest honor, Pale Z Award
By Brendon Bordwine | 14 hours agoThe Society has a storied history of honoring University leaders with the Pale Z.
Students receive free STI testing through U.Va. Health and Wellness
By Jackie Bond | YesterdayThrough funding from Student Council, students are now able to receive free STI testing with SHW which includes tests for HIV, Syphilis, Gonorrhea, Chlamydia and Hepatitis C.
President Ryan signs collective statement condemning Trump administration
By Cecilia Mould | YesterdayWhile the statement claims that signees are willing to enact reforms and cooperate with government supervision, it disagrees with the current administration’s decision to withdraw funding from institutions.
