QUINTIN JAMES
Assistant Sports Editor
Last Thursday, the Student Association (SA) held a general body meeting in room G-26 in McEwen Hall, where they voted on the status of Fredonia’s Art Forum and their program “In Site/On Site.”
Fredonia Art Forum creates different programs, such as “In Sight/On Site,” which brings sculptures to our campus. Art students collaborate on picking sculptures and contacting the artists to bring the art here, as well as helping to install these pieces of art.
To many art students, this is a valuable, hands-on experience that can only be beneficial to their studies.
The constituted group was called to court by SA after the group missed both their budget meeting and General Assembly (GA) day, failing to approve a new budget and causing concern in the art community.
As the meeting started and the topic was brought up to the crowd, the art students attending quickly made their voices heard.
Members of the art programs argued that if not funded enough, “In Sight/On Site” would cease to exist, because they wouldn’t have enough money to pay artists to come to campus. They mentioned that students appreciate the art on campus and vouched for the continuation of funding.
Treasurer of Art Forum, Alexandra Viola, explained how important sculptures are for Fredonia.
“Sculptures on campus add character and [make] us unique,” she said. “It shows that the community and campus supports visual art. It creates attachment to campus and makes students more comfortable.”
Art Forum would also go from a constituted group to a chartered group. SA considered this to be a slap on the wrist, as Art Forum had committed “many violations.”
As members of SA and members of the art programs went back and forth, the room became very on edge, and the topic’s conversation pushed an hour.
After much debate, SA called to end all questions and vote on funding for “In Sight/ On Site.” SA came up with a compromise that “In Sight/On Site” be funded by General Admission with a budget of $3,250 per year.
Members of Art Forum weren’t necessarily happy about the decision to lower the group to chartered status, but they are satisfied that their programs will still be funded.
Viola talked about the future of Art Forum after the latest SA meeting.
“It affects events per semester,” she said. “We have two semesters to get our stuff together. ‘In Sight/On Site’ is separate now, so we have to re-brand.”
The re-branding of Art Forum will be a from-the-ground-up process. An inconsistent E-board prior to this incident, as well as lack of communication and knowledge of individual roles, was the cause of the group’s problems.
Viola mentioned that Colin Hass, event coordinator, reached out to people in his class to come support them in the meeting, and from there, word of mouth brought the large crowd to the general body meeting.
Now that they’re rebranding, Art Forum is trying to spice up the group and create some new buzz on campus. Viola explained the different events they had coming up, including a new sculpture coming later this month.
“‘Thundercloud’ by Coral Penelope will be installed in mid April, and we will be having [an] installation party in the Rockefeller lobby after,” she said.
Other events include button making, a nature walk/stretch and, potentially, a visit from Corah Lorow, who is an alumna of Fredonia Art Forum.