The Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts held their first student showcase entitled “Still in Motion” on Thursday, April 23, where students from various departments displayed their creations.
Held on the third floor of the MUC, the showcase contained a selection of pieces chosen from multiple entries by a board. Amy Duncan, an intern for the Center’s Student Innovation Hub, said this was a long time in the making.
“We came up with the concept around the beginning of the semester,” Duncan said. “We’ve been working on it for the past two months or so.”
Selections from canvas paintings to fabric art to written works, including a short story and poetry, were on display that night. One of the pieces was a ceramic collection of cups and a jar, and another was a purple and black painting of a cockroach and a McDonald’s meal with the words “Finally, something as old as me.” Later on, there was a dance performance choreographed by Maggie Jackson. It was excerpted from a longer performance in her senior showcase titled “The Preposition Proposition,” based on common prepositions like “against” or “below.” The intent was to show the different dynamics of the prepositions in dance form.
“There was no central theme that we chose [initially], but we realized that all the pieces seemed to have a theme to them,” Duncan said. “They all seemed to be about motion, hence why we called it ‘Still in Motion.’”
One of the pieces, created by junior graphic design major Mylisha Edwards, was created digitally, using the Adobe Illustrator computer program as her medium instead of traditional paints.
When asked why she used Illustrator as her medium instead of Photoshop, Edwards said, “I wanted to make things from scratch. That’s not really possible with Photoshop.” The piece features a woman coming out of a spa treatment with cucumbers over her eyes while answering her cell phone. Edwards said she intended the piece to show women dealing with stress in the modern world.
During the evening, the writers were invited to read their pieces aloud. Michael Stokes read a nonfiction piece describing the wars in the Middle East, focusing on dust and layers the soldiers use as protection.
The readings also included an excerpt from senior English major Sarah Key’s short story, which centered on a young woman and her sick uncle, as well as her experiences as a transitional counselor. English major Annisha Bell’s poem was written about her mother. The poem focused on how flowers conceal pain, and described “secrets that those daisies might hold, waiting for a little girl to find them.” English major Etenia Mullins also read a poem inspired by family.
Duncan said the entries were interesting and creative.
“Having these totally different pieces side by side makes the mind form connections you wouldn’t have made otherwise,” Duncan said. “It makes for a very unique experience.”
Out of the art displayed, four of them received further recognition as some of the best works. These four received $100 gift cards for their entries.
Duncan hopes to hold this event again in the future, possibly with an outside venue. “We hope to feature more live readings and musical performances as the showcase gains more popularity and possibly more collaboration between the arts departments in the future,” Duncan said.
Duncan said CECA is proud to hold the showcase and hopes to continue the event for many years, so more students can show their artistic talent.
