Photo: Cheyenne Lawyer
With sponsorship from the Elizabethtown College campus High Library, Department of Performing Arts and the Study Abroad office, students within academic and artistic departments are provided with an opportunity to share pieces of their individual work to display directly inside the entrance of the library.
The gallery of student artwork went on display to acknowledge International Education Week and will remain for community viewing for the entirety of the Fall 2018 semester.
Assistant professor of art Dr. Kristi Arnold instructs two current art courses: Art 105 Drawing I and Art 204 Fundamentals of Color and Design. To contribute, Arnold disclosed the upcoming showcase to students from both classes, which resulted in a wide collection of student artwork.
The High Library’s Instruction and Outreach Librarian Josh Cohen expressed how art showcases tend to draw attention from visiting high school students and potential future Blue Jays.
“The window paper-cutting art project has focused on a different theme each year since we first worked together on a Shakespeare project in 2016 for the First Folio! The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare exhibit,” Cohen shared.
“Since we had a lot of programming this semester around the ‘Wizarding’ theme, I asked Dr. Arnold if her students could provide us with a window display on a wizarding theme,” Cohen continued. “This art project, titled ‘Wizarding World,’ was created by Dr. Arnold’s Art 204 Fundamentals of Color and Design class.”
Megan Bell, an advisor for Etown students planning to study abroad, contributed to the display by showcasing a photo gallery of previous educational endeavors of students.
The gallery showcased 18 photos taken by Etown students studying multicultural academics overseas. These students, along with others, submitted pictures they had captured to compete with one another. The top three winners and several honorable mentions will later be announced and put on display.
As a generation familiar with technology, students take a ton of pictures while abroad thanks to their cellphones. Additionally, the aspect of collecting aesthetic photography serves as a way for students to capture their study abroad experience, preserve their memories and share their adventures abroad.
“I think it’s important for students to process and share their study abroad experience through whichever media works best for them,” Bell stated. “Whether that be photography, videography, writing a blog, poetry or personal journal, creating art or music or another outlet. It’s the students’ experience, so they can express and explain it any way they like.”
