Thursday, April 16, Calvin University’s department of visual and performing arts hosted its annual Spring Arts Festival in the Spoelhof University Center and the Commons Annex. The event featured a large breadth of student artwork with diverse styles and mediums.
When asked by Chimes to describe the event in one word, students involved and attending the festival described it as “lively,” “colorful,” “happy,” “festive” and “multi-faceted.” This captured the atmosphere well. From festive banners hanging from the ceiling to colorful paintings adorning every wall to live performances, there was always something to admire.
In addition to displaying their work, students set up interactive workshops and temporary booths to sell their art. Sada Shilton, an art education major, said this is part of why she loves the festival. “It’s so satisfying to see that people want to buy my art,” she said. Shilton also emphasized all of the preparation that goes into the festival and the joy of “seeing it all come together.”
There was an opportunity for students to make their own prints at a print-making workshop and even to try their hand at mixing music at one booth. The ceramics studio was filled to the brim with mugs and dishes for sale, and to top it all off, there were free hot dogs and chips being distributed.
Elyse Heetebrij, an intern for the Arts Collective Cohort, mentioned an exciting new addition to the festival this year. She was in charge of coordinating the first Arts Collective exhibition room, which featured a variety of pieces from members of Arts Collective. “I was just reaching out to a lot of our different students, trying to get all sorts of artwork from fiber arts to ceramics to paintings,” she told Chimes. It even featured some poetry. “I’m really happy with the selection I got,” she said.
While the festival brings attention to the arts at Calvin, Heetebrij could still think of one step she would like to see taken to make them even more visible: “I would like to see us not in the basement,” she said.
Another new addition to the festival was the “London Exhibit.” Two rooms featured artwork and booths inspired by the first-ever graphic design trip to London, a two-week course that took place in February. Lili Wilstermann was one of the students who attended. She told Chimes the class spent two weeks in London, exploring the city through museums and galleries. The “London Exhibition” at the Spring Arts Festival was an ode to their experience. It included a small “pub” with sodas, a “Corner Cafe” with coffee and shortbread and other forms of visual art that captured various “inside jokes” and parts of their time abroad.
According to Christine Vermeer, a studio associate and the coordinator for the Arts Collective, this year’s theme for the festival was aptly inspired by Calvin’s 150th anniversary. She told Chimes that students chose the theme of “two diamonds,” with each diamond representing 75 years of Calvin.
The festival is an opportunity for students to share their many talents and all they have been working hard on throughout the year. It is an opportunity for students, families and friends to gather for a celebration of the arts at Calvin. This past weekend, like every year’s festival, students put great thought and preparation into finding innovative and creative ways to share their art at the festival and with the Calvin community.
