SXU to participate in Beverly Art Walk for fourth consecutive year
Saint Xavier University (SXU) is pleased to announce the Art and Design Department's upcoming annual participation in the Beverly Art Walk. Since it was established four years ago, SXU students have been given the chance to showcase their work to a larger part of the community. This year's Beverly Art Walk is scheduled for Saturday, October 7 from noon to 7 p.m. It is a free event and open to the public.
The recurring presence began in 2013, when Associate Professor Nathan Peck became the chair of the Art and Design Department. He felt it was a great opportunity to expand the students' audience while simultaneously preparing them to show their work. In recent years, the space provided to SXU has grown from a small 10 feet on a wall to room for 40,000 square feet worth of craft. Some of the categories include: painting, photography, film, dance, music, potters, sculptors and performers. Students, alumni, faculty and staff are all welcome to participate in the art walk.
Filling up the space is hardly difficult. To begin, faculty and students visualize what kind of work they want to exhibit, and how. This year, there are plans for a photo gallery, a painting studio, and a combined space for videos and performance. The next step is selecting exactly which work to showcase from the past year, with a focus on the art created by students. Peck believes that having diverse viewers is a great learning experience for the students, who have had limited exposure among their peers.
"Events like the Beverly Art Walk allow students opportunities to expand their audience and experience the difference of a real world, non-artist, multi-aged diverse audience with very different expectations," said Peck.
Senior student Erin Kelly is excited to participate in the Beverly Art Walk for a second year. She mainly concentrates on comic book and graphic novel art, which translates into her senior seminar project of writing and drawing a sci-fi graphic novel. It comes as no surprise that Kelly aspires to be a character designer for creative corporations. However, for the art walk, she has been tasked with a different style: sculpting.
Kelly is a student in Peck's sculpture class, which is currently fixated on three dimensional art. The purpose of the 3-D sculptures is to create a virtual reality for the spectators to experience new worlds. While the production itself is fun, she is excited to see how people interact with the work they have shaped.
What has made an important impact for Kelly are the faculty of art department.
"The tools and teacher aid provided by SXU has gradually built up my self-esteem through the years," said Kelly. "When I graduate, I have no fear that I'll fail at finding a job, I will be ready!"
Senior student Kolin Smith will also be participating in the Art Walk for the second time. He typically works with a variety of art genres, but this year will showcase a few art pieces made digitally as well as a few paintings or drawings. Additionally, Smith will also bring one of his dance group affiliates out to perform.
"I look forward to the creativity and vibes of the people interacting with the art," said Smith.
SXU is happy to see its students, faculty and staff get involved and make an impact through works of art!
More information about the Beverly Art Walk can be found on the Beverly Arts website. To learn more about SXU's Art and Design program, please visit the Art and Design website.