SHENECA SHARPE
Staff Writer
“The purpose of Artists Alliance is to provide the campus and community with a network of resources in which to create, produce and perform original works of art that are inclusive to a diverse array of art disciplines,” said Riley Baracskai, secretary of Artists Alliance and sophomore double major in arts administration and theatre.
“Artists Alliance,” a new club founded by junior BFA acting major Angela Wheeler, embraces all forms of talent that Fredonia students have to offer. It is a contact group for artists, meaning that if there’s an idea or project that someone needs help getting off the ground, it would be approved from the e-board and then presented to the general body who are always looking for ways to improve on their craft in a multitude of ways.
“We at Artists Alliance understand that art is extremely powerful when created collaboratively and we want to tap into all of the abundant resources of talent here at Fredonia, not just one or two,” said Baracskai.
Fredonia is known for the abundance of courses and majors it has dedicated strictly to the arts. Many freshmen come to Fredonia for that particular reason, therefore having a club like this in effect creates open arms for students who might be nervous when coming to college.
“Artists Alliance is this amazing group on campus trying to integrate all the arts (visual, performing, writing, etc.) into one area so that new opportunities and collaborations can occur! The e-board and reps are all so wonderful, the vibe is great, and you can tell that it’s a bunch of people with a like-minded determination to create art,” said Emily Bassett, a sophomore double major in French and theatre arts.
This club presents the opportunity for those who do not major in the arts to come to the meetings and give it a try and possibly discover new talents. Eventually if they do find that particular talent then they can share it with the general body and then a collaboration can begin.
Jimmy Scamacca, a senior BFA graphic design major, created the logo for Artists Alliance and believed that the club needed something that would represent Artists Alliance in the best light.
“Establishing a brand identity is an important aspect when one is creating an organization like this. The logo serves as a visual symbol for the group and has inherent meaning in its design. We had to consider what the brand represented so the logo can encompass all aspects of the organization. Since Artists Alliance is about bringing student from different departments together, the logo had to reflect the goals we hope to accomplish,” said Scamacca. “My logo is actually created with ink and a paintbrush. I did it physically and then scanned it into a computer and manipulated it from there. I believe that the flow of the letterforms and the connectedness of the handwriting reflects our desire to bring people together.”
Artists Alliance is about the possibility of creating a community where different types of art, technology and other media can come together with one goal: to create and to collaborate.
The group meets every Sunday at 6 p.m. in Rockefeller Arts Center, though a specific room has not been determined yet.