The GS Arts & Research Collective Showcases Student Creativity and Builds Student Community
Select artworks, photography, writing, and research by GS students are now on display around campus through the GS Arts & Research Collective. We spoke with the Collective’s organizer Dean Kristy Barbacane and a couple of the participating student artists about the meaningful relationship between art and academia.
If you swing by the GS Lounge and Academic Resource Center (ARC) this semester, you may notice some new additions. Hung along the walls of these two prominent GS spaces are art, photography, writing, and research created by GS students. These pieces are the fruits of The GS Arts & Research Collective, an initiative led by Assistant Dean of Students Kristy Barbacane.
“I believe that the physical atmosphere and environment around us impacts our work and studies. Artistic works and research can inspire, motivate, engage, and provoke. Columbia students seek academic rigor and the development of the life of the mind. Classes, lectures, colloquia, and discussions on campus facilitate learning. The walls of the GS lounge and ARC now join in this conversation to stimulate discussion, ask questions, pique curiosity, and engage with fellow GS students,” said Dean Barbacane of the motivation behind the Collective.
“The GS Arts & Research Collective creates space for art and research outside of the classroom and lab to allow for a more expansive and enriching learning experience.”
Students entered submissions during the fall semester and a select group were chosen to be featured in the Collective’s spring 2022 exhibit. “There were many extraordinary submissions and it was challenging to select the finalists. In addition to reviewing the submitted work, we also looked at the submitter’s application including their description for the work. We wanted the exhibit to represent the diversity of our student body and to showcase the extraordinary talent of our students,” said Dean Barbacane.
The finalists will be on display at the GS Lounge and the ARC through the spring semester and Dean Barbacane plans for the Collective to become a yearly initiative. “The GS Arts & Research Collective creates space for art and research outside of the classroom and lab to allow for a more expansive and enriching learning experience. I hope the Collective sparks opportunities for intellectual curiosity and dialogue amongst our students, staff, and faculty. I also hope it fosters a greater sense of community within GS as we showcase the work of our talented students and, in turn, the exhibit inspires others.”
Learn more and submit to the Fall 2022 GS Arts & Research Collective here!
Read more from two of the Collective’s participating artists below!
Sable Alana Page Harbison ‘24GS
Film and Media Studies Major
Tell us about the art you submitted. What are you hoping to communicate through your work?
Art has the power to visually arrange an outspoken understanding of the human experience. My art describes by use of text and image what I have known, experienced, and felt deeply as an African American woman. I hope that viewers not only see me through my work, but my love and compassion for my culture.
What attracted you to participating in the collective and why do you think something like this is important for the GS community?
The GS Art and Research collective is important because art is political. There are stories that are deeply embedded within all of us that we sometimes are not even aware of and it's important to break down these narratives. An initiative like this is vital so that counterstories are no longer in the absence of light.
Jordan Kelly ‘22GS
African American and African Diaspora Studies Major, Visual Arts Concentrator
Tell us a bit about the art you submitted. What was your creative process like?
My process varies depending on the medium. However, most pieces begin with an idea, sketch, or desired outcome. That being said, once I get started on a piece, I allow myself the freedom to follow whatever stroke, mark, or gesture feels right. For example, the purple abstract piece was intended to be painting flowers, but I quickly realized that was no longer an interest of mine and I was able to finish that piece in a day's time! On the other hand, Lovers Rock (pictured above) took me weeks, and I still find myself wanting to go back in and alter certain details.
What attracted you to participating in the collective and why do you think something like this is important for the GS community?
I found that it has been a bit challenging to find a community within the Visual Arts department as a GS student, especially since switching majors. I think this art collective initiative is important, especially for nontraditional GS students like myself. It allows for another point of reference and community building for creatives that is outside of being the "other" within Columbia.