The art of business

Spring semester has started and you may have noticed some things. Doors opened to classrooms you’ve never seen. Art supplies taking over a basement level room in the library. A short guy named Chester is walking everywhere, all the time, at every corner you turn. If you haven’t put the clues together, the Rialto campus is no longer. The Art Department has moved back to the main campus. For the university, this is the solution to some problems: We’re saving money on rent and transportation. The Art Department has more visibility. It’s a win for administration. For the students, it’s more of a loss. The intent of this article is not at all to be malicious or petty. The intent is to bring awareness to how many of the students in the art department feel. I hope you continue to read with an open mind. 

Let’s start from the beginning. Last Semester, it was announced that our Gallery Manager, Jennifer Moore, was let go. It was also announced that there would be no more artists’ talks in the gallery. For art majors, Artist talks were a way to see potential for our future. We were able to meet professional artists and listen to them talk about their careers, their challenges, their triumphs. It was motivation for us to keep going. 

Then, we found out that this semester would be our last semester with our instructor Paul Erschen. It is safe to say that Paul is almost every art major’s favorite professor. Paul has worked at the University for over 25 years. He has worked with high school students to develop portfolios. He has made and purchased materials for students, including me, who couldn’t afford them. He encourages us to try new techniques. He unlocks parts of us as artists that we didn’t think possible. He teaches with purpose. He is patient. He gives us constructive criticism when needed. He laughs with us. He’s a role model to us. Losing Paul is like losing part of the department.

Finally, closer to the end of last semester, we were told that we would no longer have access to the Rialto. For us, this meant we would lose our studios, our space to work, our community to fellowship with other art majors. We lost our dark room. Film Photography is no longer offered this semester. We lost our ceramics studio. Ceramics classes are no longer offered this semester. We lost our area for screen printing. We lost our woodshop. We lost our gallery. It felt as though we were losing everything. 

Now that we are back on the main campus, we’ve faced many challenges. The department only has three classrooms now. A science lab that hasn’t been used in years, a small classroom in the library that doesn’t have enough space to fit all of our materials, and a shared space with Communications and DARA up on the 4th floor of Tower. 

In our science lab, which is our main area, the water didn’t run clear for two classes and there was no heat the first week. People complain about the smells coming from our art materials but we can’t open the windows. Our resources are limited. Our teachers have to go back and forth to the Rialto to get materials we need constantly. Seniors are struggling to find spaces that work for their senior thesis since we aren’t able to use San Damiano. Art majors are now limited to three areas on this campus to work on projects. It makes a lot of us just want to work in our rooms or at home. We see each other less. We are losing our community. We are losing our place.

As an art major myself, I decided to write this article because I want the students of the art department to feel heard. I understand that the administration and the University thought that moving us would do more good for the University. However, it does feel like the current students were not thought of when decisions were made.  We deserve to have our own space like every other department on this campus. I encourage administrators and leadership to have a conversation with art majors to come to an understanding about how we feel and ways to work toward a better experience for our students. After all, student experience is one of the most important parts of a college, right?