The basement of the Spoelhof Center came alive this past Thursday, April 18, as Calvin’s spring arts festival made an impressive return, marking its first appearance since the COVID-19 pandemic. Students came to enjoy featured art pieces from their peers, senior design portfolios, an open mic night and free hot dogs.
The spring arts festival used to be run by a student organization –– which “dissolved” during COVID –– so the 2024 festival was run by the art department directly, according to Christine Vermeer, the art department studio associate and arts collective coordinator. Most of the art on display came from student classwork throughout the semester, and several students presented exhibitions of their work.
“It’s just been fun for me to see the students excited to show their friends and their family members the things that they made,” Vermeer told Chimes. “I’ve seen a lot of my students taking pictures beside their art, and it just shows me that they’re proud of what they made and they’re excited to show it.”
Vermeer helped coordinate logistics for the festival. Planning the event involved meeting with professors to decide what each class would add to the exhibitions and deciding how to incorporate each space in the Spoelhof Center basement into the festivities.
A multi-faceted festival
The arts festival involved far more than a simple collection of drawings, paintings and other visual art pieces. Vermeer also reached out to the student activities office (SAO) –– which hosted an open mic night –– and the music department to get music students involved. The Calvin Theatre Company also contributed to the festival, performing scenes from their show “Little Women” at regular intervals.
Lindsey Gram, a junior double majoring in communications and writing, acted in two scenes from “Little Women ” at the festival. The performance went “really well,” according to Gram, who also had a chance to see friends’ ceramics on display. “I think it’s really nice to kind of bring it all together,” Gram said about the festival’s variety.
While he attended the festival mainly as a performer at the open mic night, Brooks Townsend also enjoyed the art on display. In particular, Townsend appreciated the participatory nature of an exhibit by Avery Andersen and Horacio Portillo Diaz, featuring two sculptures that were still in progress. Visitors to the exhibit were invited to mark the sculptures with a tool or paint a blank space.
Beyond the responsive sculpture exhibit, visitors could participate in a scavenger hunt for small ceramic frogs scattered throughout the exhibits or a drawing practice event, both organized by fine art and interdisciplinary sciences senior, Rine Wakeman.
Wakeman was happy to see so many people interested in student art. “My favorite part of the festival has been… usually you don’t realize everything that everybody’s been working on throughout the semester, and this was a very tangible way to see that,” Wakeman said.
Students also had the opportunity to sell their artwork. In one room, printmaking students helped make custom tote bags and t-shirts. Grace Triemstra, a senior studying therapeutic recreation, sold plaques with fish art made in ink and colored pencil. “I think it’s cool being able to see the skills and talents that our students have,” Triemstra said. She appreciated that Calvin’s art students had the opportunity to “get paid for the art that they make.”
“A new energy for the arts”
Andrew Doyle, a junior studying film and media with a minor in studio art, had a series of oil paintings and some photography on display at the festival. Seeing so many people visit the exhibits left Doyle feeling a “new energy for the arts on campus. I think anyone can find inspiration about having this type of spring festival,” Doyle said.
Several other students expressed gratitude for the festival, saying it made them feel “hopeful” or “encouraged” about the future of the arts at Calvin. “Over my time at Calvin, we’ve seen people criticize the institution for cutting back on certain programs,” Townsend told Chimes. “But with the theater program coming back and this wonderful festival. It still does give the message that the arts are alive and well here at Calvin.”
The art department, in conjunction with several other groups on campus, has plans to bring back the spring arts festival as an annual event. “I hope it’s something that graduates can still come and enjoy, for sure. I’ve already seen a couple of people that graduated before me and it’s been really nice to run back into them,” Wakeman said.
Vermeer was also encouraged by the high turnout at this year’s event. “I think it shows that students are excited about the arts and that people want to see what’s being made –– and they want to experience some of that, even if they’re not an art student or don’t work in the art department,” Vermeer said.
The spring arts festival isn’t the only chance for students to showcase their creative work before the end of the year. On Friday, April 26, the Calvin Media Showcase will be screening a selection of student-made films in the CFAC auditorium starting at 7:30 p.m.
