On April 21, St. Joseph’s University, New York’s Long Island Campus hosted its 11th annual Arts and Music Festival. This year, the festival took place during common hour in the lobby of the Student Center.
The event, sponsored by the University’s Council for the Arts, invited a jazz trio to perform in the dining hall. The festival also involved artwork from several student organizations with some hosting tables and offering hands-on crafts.
Campus Wide Participation
Some organizations involved were those one might expect from an art fair. For instance, SJNY’s chapter of the Kappa Pi Art Honor Society held a sale on ceramics and glassware created by its members. Proceeds went donated to the Patchogue location of the Long Island Cares food bank.
There was also involvement from non-art based organizations, such as the Office of Global Studies and the National Student Speech-Language Hearing Association. The former displayed student photography from study abroad trips while the latter provided blank canvases and tote bags for students to decorate.
Other activities and offerings included blackout poetry provided by the English Society and a small hand-weaving craft.
Casting a Wide Net
According to Anna Malzone, senior lecturer and the director of the Council of the Arts on the Long Island campus, this was by design.
“The aim here is really to provide a creative outlet for students, regardless of if they’re involved in arts or not, and to show them that you can do it,” Malzone said.
As one of the Council for the Arts’ larger events that is more likely to attract non-art students, Malzone puts an emphasis on engaging students who are not studying art at the university.
She pointed out how the arts stimulate a different part of the brain compared to traditional academics, and that they can simply be relaxing or fun hobbies. However, in order for students to enjoy the arts, they must first be exposed to them. She also advocates for art and other creative outlets on a practical level.
“So many careers rely on your creativity besides the arts,” Malzone continued. “There’s so many things in life that you’re gonna have to think of creative ways to do.”
Malzone is optimistic that an event like the Arts and Music Festival can spur that creativity, and maybe give someone a passion that they wouldn’t have otherwise known about.
Photos From This Year’s Event
