KSC’s Art Collective has begun weekly meetings in an effort to rebrand itself and offer new artistic opportunities.
The Art Collective is a club on campus that allows students of all majors to get creative, according to President and junior Alysha England.
“It’s open to anyone, art major or non art major, and anyone who really likes art,” England said.
Over the past few years, the Art Collective has had issues with having consistent members.
“[Previous president] Riley Young got it started and did not feel like she could do that and prepare for her senior show,” faculty advisor and art professor Emily Lambert said. “And with COVID[-19], getting students was more complicated and we didn’t have any additional people that wanted to pick it up… [the club] wasn’t running at full speed.”
England mentioned that she plans to make club meetings more consistent.
“I feel like I’ve watched [the club] go through a rocky road dealing with COVID[-19],” England said. “With new people and new agendas and a bunch of different things we’re gonna be doing, it feels just like a brand new art collective that we are excited to introduce to Keene State.”
The club has already found success during the Student Involvement Fair, which has caught over 60 students’ attention.
“That was the first thing we did and we hit the ground running,” England said. “We kept getting more [people] after the fair being like, ‘I missed the fair but I kept seeing advertisements.’”
The club had its first meeting Sunday, Oct. 2, where England and junior Leon Boisvert, the club’s vice president, got to establish that creative space for the first time.
“It was our first meeting last week and in order to get into the collaborative spirit, we had canvases we would paint on for five minutes and pass it to the person to our left,” Boisvert said. “Everyone [was] laughing and having a good time… it was just absolutely wonderful to have that kind of bonding experience.”
Boisvert and England said they have many goals and collaborative activities planned for the academic year, including trips and art hikes to get outside and draw.
“We wanna get [a variety] of materials and work with as many mediums as we have access to… also I would like to get figure drawing again,” Boisvert said.
Boisvert added that he hopes the Art Collective will add to the creativity of the Redfern Arts Center.
“I feel like my personal goal eventually would be to just, over the years, turn the Redfern into a more artsy building, decorate it and make it nice,” Boisvert said.
When it comes to planning, England and Boisvert are being supported by Lambert.
“I am there to [sort out] their plans and the sense of community that they want to create with the art collective,” Lambert said. “I’ve encouraged them, if they want, to take field trips or invite guest artists or do self-taught workshops.”
Lambert said students should get involved with the Art Collective because it provides an artistic outlet.
“Really strengthening students’ artistic voice and creating a vision is really important,” Lambert said. “It’s also a great chance for art majors to meet up and work on stuff that’s not class related, but you don’t have to be an art [major] to just go and do art, which I think is really cool.”
Lambert added, “It’s important for everybody’s mental health and well-being to be creative. And I feel really confident that Alysha and Leon will create a really welcoming environment that really wants a whole range of students showing up.”
The Art Collective meets at 4 p.m. every Sunday on the third floor of the Redfern in the painting studio.
Nicole Dumont can be contacted at
ndumont@kscequinox.com
