Stories

Exactly who and what is SAL?

We like to describe ourselves as a group of people who look at, talk about, and make art.  Everyone is welcome. Our mission is to create and facilitate opportunities for student artists and art historians that reach outside the classroom. I am proud of the ability of our students to take show agency of the program and what they are able to do here. This could mean taking trips to galleries, museums, and artists’ studios, it might mean mixed-discipline advanced critiques, or it might mean collaborating together on public art projects. Creatives need to work together, especially as students. We are at such early stages in our paths as artists, it’s sometimes challenging to navigate more ambitious projects, but if we do it together it is a lot easier.

Do you feel the new building has afforded you new opportunities?

More than anything physical, what this new building has offered is a new sense of confidence that the arts are valued here on campus. We should be proud to say we are art majors. Now that we have this opportunity, it is really up to those of us in the building  - students and instructors – to take initiative and work together toward ushering in this new ‘Community of the Arts’ on campus, because community is not based on a building; it is based on a group of people.

What would you like to see for the Department and SCUSAL moving forward?

I want to see more. More people making and showing cool work. How can we go on more trips? How can we get out to see more art? How can we talk about art in a more elevated fashion? How can we elevate our own practices? I think we do it through community, and that’s what we are trying to build with SAL. Ultimately, that’s really the goal.