The Arts Come Alive at CMC During Art Week

During the week of April 12-16, students at CMC celebrated all things creative with Art Week. With events such as a study abroad photo exhibition, a cappella singing performances during afternoon tea, and an arts-themed Thursday night party, students embraced their creative side, sharing their artistic passions with the rest of the CMC community.
Earlier in the semester, students informally organized themselves to discuss the role of the arts and humanities at CMC, recruiting like-minded faculty members and students to contribute their thoughts. With Lauren Wong '10 leading the way, the group formed a new club, ArtBeat, to further the role of the arts at CMC and to facilitate their discussions. One result of these discussions was Art Week.
"Our biggest aim was to highlight the creative spirit that existed incognito at CMC," Wong shared. "We wanted to encourage this spirit and bring some solidarity to the artistic students who weren't connected to each other before."
Many of the week's events sought to actively engage viewers in the artistic process. To begin the week, a guerrilla installation of art took over the North Quad area of campus. Brightly colored items and objects were affixed to benches, trees, light poles, and stairways. Signs encouraged viewers to participate in the project, urging them to relocate the objects or to add their own.
Wong described her favorite aspect of the guerrilla art: "It was fun to watch people's reactions to the art: first they were somewhat alarmed, then curious, then pleased."
Other events during the week included an edible art exhibit, a performance by the 5C Mariachi Serrano during Snack at Collins Dining Hall, a meet and greet with humanities faculty members, splatter painting a tarp for the Thursday Night Club party, and a Taiko drumming performance.
The week came to a finale with a Claremont Colleges Ballroom Dance Team performance at the reception of a student art exhibition at the Athenaeum. The student art exhibition gave Grady Wieger '10 the opportunity to exhibit his paintings for the first time beyond his dorm room.
Speaking on his artistic passion, Wieger shared, "Sketching had always been my main creative outlet until I started painting with oils four years ago. Now when I want to de-stress and give myself a challenge unlike any I receive from my academics, I pick up the paintbrush and begin to create."
In addition to Weiger's series of still life paintings, the Athenaeum exhibited photography, sketches, and paintings from other students. Beyond the typical Athenaeum crowd, the student artwork was seen by prospective students and their parents, as part of the On Campus Day festivities, sponsored by the Office of Admission.
"Exposing the talents of CMC students to the rest of the community was really exciting," Wieger added. "I hope that the community here now recognizes the large number of students who are dedicated to the arts and make it a part of their daily life."
Additional photos of Art Week are available at the CMC Forum: http://cmcforum.com/life/ac/04252010-photoessay-cmc-art-week. Emily Meinhardt '10