Syracuse University Art Museum Hosts Community Day Connecting People through Art and Creativity by Michela Flood

Oct 9, 2024

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Photo by Michela Flood

Art provides the opportunity for people to connect in a plethora of ways, ranging from finding hobbies in common to agreeing to styles, designs, and looks that may be found appealing.

Community is what the Syracuse University Art Museum works under, and the yearly Community Day that was hosted on October 5th, 2024 followed this same theme.

With a continued desire to fulfill this goal of togetherness and uniting the university with the city and the community, the Museum offered Community Day from which a planned and curated day, with a scheduled list of events and activities for communal fun, was available.

The Syracuse University Art Museum, located in the Shaffer Art Building, serves as the University Fine Art Museum.

The building is named after Dorothea Shaffer, an art student at SU. She had a dedicated passion for the arts, and along with her husband donated and contributed to the building of the museum, seeking to welcome new opportunities for students.

Since its construction, over 30 years ago the museum has hosted numerous events for both students and locals, being a trusted and creative outlet of expression right on campus, an ideal place for lovers of art and art-curious individuals alike.

With a plethora of space to share and collaborate ideas, the museum encourages creativity, individuality, and togetherness, which is a dream for art lovers everywhere.

The museum is a designated realm for freedom of expression, through hosting numerous exhibitions, and galleries, the museum is an amazing place.

Kate Holohan, The Curator of Education and Academic Outreach at the Syracuse University Art Museum, explained how the museum is always looking for ways to connect with the community, finding a balance between students, locals, and families.

Photo by Michela Flood

“Our community is diverse, its students who themselves are extremely diverse, faculty also diverse, staff, and then people who live in the city of Syracuse and the wider region as well, we are often thinking about what we can do that will appeal to all these kind of stakeholders in the community, and also offering programs that will be interesting,” Holohan said.

Community day is offered twice a year, one time in the fall and another time in the spring, each time containing designated activities and plans to best serve attendees.

Special guest, Kofi Antwi, a local poet and author was a part of the day as well.

Between sharing his work, the work of Gordon Parks (the photographer whose work is currently at the Syracuse University Art Museum), and conducting a workshop to develop thoughts about poetry and writing, Antwi got attendees thinking deeper about the power and connection of art and the community.

“We thought that worked really well with our Gordan Parks show because Parks was not only a photographer but he was a poet, he was a novelist, he was a filmmaker, composer,” Holohan said.

Photo by Michela Flood

Antwi read a combination of his work, as well as the work of Gordon Parks.

Antwi also hosted a workshop during which attendees responded to a series of prompts he gave.

With small different colored booklets and pencils, attendees were prompted questions by Antwi and encouraged to think through an artistic or poetic mindset.

“When I look at poetry I think of fragmented ideas and thoughts, my poetry usually reads through that kind of pain,” he said.

“I believe younger people are the future and here on the campus for SU, individuals could start to hone in on their own voice, and their own personal story, by using poetry as a vehicle into creative expression,” Antwi said.

The Gordon Parks exhibit is open until December.

Photo by Michela Flood

“That's what we are trying to get people to see, it's our big marquee exhibition and it's only up for a couple of months, we want people to be able to see it while they are here, so we are drawing very much on the themes and ideas of the Gordon Parks Exhibition for the fall community day,” Holohan said.

However, the Community Day efforts are not temporary and the museum will continue its outreach, to further increase connection, again in the spring.

“The idea is to have one day, at least each semester, dedicated to open access, family, friendly programming in our galleries,” Holohan said.

The autumn Saturday schedule was as follows:

Drop-in art making: 12 pm-4 pm

Story Time: 12:30 pm & 2:30 p.m.

Poetry reading & workshop: 1-2 p.m

A set schedule and family guide allowed families the opportunity to drop in and fit the community day to best serve their schedules.

“It's something that is doable in a short period of time, where you could come and if you just want to be there for 10 minutes you could do it, if you want to stay for 45 minutes you could also do that and so, I always love to see how that plays out,” Holohan said.

Photo by Michela Flood

Beth Ketchum, the museum's K-12 Education Specialist, works to network between the university and the school district to encourage tours to bring in a younger audience and she assisted in the Community Day Production.

“It (Community Day) bridges the community and museum with a lot of activities,” Ketchum said.

Maeve Donnelly, a Collections Programming Grad Assistant, explained how through creativity and a fun day of poetry reading, storytime, and crafting, this tactic of bringing in a plethora of fun activities related to the exhibition where everyone is welcome would embrace coming together through art.

“We are reaching out to a broader Syracuse city community, trying to expand the museum off campus,” Donnelly said.