KEEGAN FRANCL
franclkl@lopers.unk.edu

During my walk to and from class I always pass the same “landmarks” – the fountain construction which is an eye sore and a huge hindrance on our commutes, some Chick-Fil-A wrappers that missed the trash, and a tattered blue rag on the ground leftover from homecoming.

Students create more than trash. When I visited UNK as a potential graphic design student my senior year of high school, I toured the halls of the Fine Art building amazed at the work of UNK students: intricate ceramics, colorful glass work, life-size sculptures and paintings. It was like walking through a museum of finished and un-finished works of art that you knew were painstakingly done to meet deadlines.

Why is the creative work of our collogues confined to the walls of the Fine Art’s building? Why don’t artists have an opportunity to better share their work? Couldn’t our campus use a bit more culture and expression represented by its student body? 

Visual design students were enthusistic about this idea.   

“Our art could encourage students to become more engaged,” Tyrell Cerenvy said. “It would be something for our classmates to be intrigued by and create thought provoking ideas.”  

When asked what kind of message he would portray to students, Evan Ludwig pulled up a picture on his phone of an illustration he made. The art piece drew attention to mental health. “We’re all going through the same thing in college. Our art could relate and encourage people to keep going and do inspiring things with their life,” Ludwig said. 

Two vital components to a successful art career are exposure and support. UNK needs to give their artistic students a variety of platforms to share their work on campus. Doing so would familiarize the student body with both the work and the artist. The benefit for artists creating work for the entire student body would be the opportunity to branch out and take on projects that aren’t confined to the classroom. 

Imagine if there were spots all over campus specifically displaying student’s artwork. Students would recognize the art done by their friends and collogues which would bring artists validation, and would establish UNK as a campus full of diverse talents. How is anyone supposed to know of UNK’s stellar art program if the talent is confined? This could familiarize students with the art program and bring in new prospects.

UNK student artists could help change campus views and community pride through their art displays.