Now in its fourth year, the annual “I Heart Art” festival celebrates the creativity and talent of Quinnipiac students. Held all day in Alumni Hall on Nov. 19, the art work shown came from different perspectives and visions of the students. Alumni Hall was decorated fancily with a number of tables and a stage set up for entertainment, in addition to the art shown throughout the room.
There was a cozy feeling throughout the room with snacks being given out and light guitar strumming playing over the sound system. Sponsored by The Montage, Quinnipiac’s literary magazine, the festival is composed entirely of student art and encourages members of the Quinnipiac community to recognize the scope of work their peers create.
Co-editors of Montage Sarah Rosenbaum and Samantha Schlemm, along with the rest of the group, worked tirelessly to ensure the success of the festival.
“We’ve been planning this since September,” junior print journalism major Rosenbaum said. Throughout the past few months, The Montage has been collecting art work from students and reserved Alumni Hall, which takes months in advance.
From Melissa Nocera’s photography of the sky in different shades of blue and orange to Tia Wishart’s three dimensional piece, composed of stick-like objects in the shape of a face, students artistically expressed their vision. Wishart’s piece featured glued newspaper clippings, which composed the base, and all of the readable headlines signified important political and societal issues. Paintings and drawings varied from colored pencil to water color to acrylic, all showing different styles that artists use to convey their objective goal. Kelly Gallagher used interesting textures, such as sand paper, for her visual presentation on one of the numerous tables displaying the art of the students.
Months of preparation in this event resulted in a live performance composed of Quinnipiac students at 7 p.m., a Gospel choir at 8 p.m. and slam poets from 9-11 p.m.
Even though many believe Quinnipiac students are apathetic, Rosenbaum thought differently.
“Quinnipiac is creative,” she said. “There are a lot of people making art.”
With inspirational quotes plastered throughout Alumni Hall from famous artists, including Leonardo da Vinci, students can take pride in the work they have accomplished. As da Vinci said, “Art is never finished” and that is motivation for any aspiring artist to never give up.
