Building Community Through Art
On our campus, community is at the forefront of strategic planning, advancement, and intellect. Community is everywhere – it’s uniquely fostered across all disciplines at The Beach. Today, our communal efforts continue to sculpt our students into the empathetic and compassionate leaders of tomorrow.
Our idea of a robust community is one characterized by a strong sense of belonging, shared governance, and shared responsibility. This past academic year, the College of the Arts launched myriad initiatives that propel our community to cultivate camaraderie at both the institutional and local levels.
In the Spring, Memphis Jookin’: The Show ignited an environment of intentionality, healing, and reflection. The Carpenter Performing Arts Center partnered with Nike to present the performance and residency as part of its Truth, Racial Healing, & Transformation initiative. The Carpenter Center worked with CSULB leaders, students, staff, faculty, and alumni, as well as city residents, to spread the word about the performance and make the show as accessible as possible to all, with low-price tickets. The performance and its adjacent activities and residency brought the CSULB and Long Beach community together to indulge in intellectual and creative pursuits and engage in the meaningful opportunity to reflect together. Memphis Jookin': The Show fostered a sense of joy and release while engendering belonging and compassion through thought-provoking discussions and celebrations of culture.
CSULB’s dynamic local partnerships continue to exceptionally raise cultural, intellectual, and economic value for the region. By opening our campus’ doors, we welcome impactful collaborations.
An example: The Veteran Portrait Project, led by Associate Professor Marian Stewart. Now in its sixth year, this collaboration between the Tibor Rubin VA Medical Center and the School of Art invites selected Veterans into Foundational Drawing classes, where the Veterans sit for their portraits as students sketch and draw them. The Veterans share their stories and the students are able to ask questions about lives that may be very different from their own. The partnership and inter-generational and cross-cultural interactions support our mission to create cultural and intellectual value for our students and our adjacent communities while celebrating the power of Art.
By the same token, a new donor-supported lectures series leverages CSULB’s connections to engage students in discussions and dialogue with inspiring leaders who work internationally and with interdisciplinary collaborations. The series tackles the art of decision-making, fosters community, and instills confidence in our diverse, equitable, and respectful student population to be future-ready leaders. The lecture series demonstrates the value of building community, as it molds a safe space where all voices are heard and students feel a sense of belonging.
That sentiment also rang true during the first ever Abstraction Symposium, an event in spring 2023 from the College of Arts that invited scholars, artists, and students to come together for in-depth discussions on abstraction in contemporary art today. The symposium gave students opportunities to present their research alongside innovative contemporary artists in an accessible forum during events that were free of charge for the public. Panel discussions during the event focused on abstract visual art and its relationship with indigeneity, materiality, and ecology. Presented by Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum, this event opened conversations with innovative artists known for their intellectual and creative achievements in interdisciplinary methodologies, bringing characteristics of arts studies to The Beach and exposing students to what a career in the field looks like.
Building community through art opens an extraordinary path that takes expression and leadership to a whole new level. Through its initiatives, the College of the Arts models examples of efforts that cultivate community, helping create diverse, equitable, and respectful community members while increasing expression and enriching meaningful relationships. By 2030, we aim to have stronger bonds and an ardent sense of confidence that helps students forge lasting partnerships with outside organizations to tackle adversity and social issues, while capitalizing on exciting innovation of our time.
