Student art majors bring attention to lack of art's funding through silence

This is one art show you’ll need to be silent for.

The Student Art Majors Association (SAMA) is hosting a group show, “Silence,” from Oct. 8 to Oct. 19 in the SAMple Gallery on the second floor of Hanes Art Center. 

Admission is free, and the show will be open to the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The show will explore the theme of “Silence” and the different ways artists chose to interpret the word and showcase their interpretations.

Senior Jubal Strube, co-president of SAMA, came up with the show’s theme as he wondered how SAMA could make a show of artwork centered around one word, and how people react to and interpret it.

“‘Silence’ just felt really great because, at the time, some of us in the art department – teachers, faculty members, students – we kind of felt like we’re being silenced,” said Strube. “Our artwork is not prevalent on campus. You see more of other things like Arts Everywhere that really doesn’t have anything to do with the actual arts department.”

Strube said the artists’ submissions have interpreted the word in diverse and unique ways.

“One of the photographers took self-portraits of herself, but she put Band-Aids over her mouth in everything,” said Strube. “And the expression she’s giving off is that she’s wanting to try and convey something to you, and you get kind of a struggle of, what is she wanting to say and why can’t she say it?”

Strube said some of the artwork is politically-motivated as well.

“We do have one that is based around Silent Sam that is pretty amazing,” Strube said. “Four 8-by-10 paintings, and the artist has put Silent Sam in different situations, and the artist is calling that piece ‘Sam Is No Longer Silent.’”

The show features a range of media: paintings, photography, pencil drawings and even mixed media with wool and weaving.

Senior Kenly Cox, treasurer of SAMA, said the SAMple gallery is a way for SAMA to give an opportunity for student artists, regardless of their major, to show their artwork in a public sphere and have something to add to their resumes.

“This is almost like a practice, a stepping stone into that professionalism or real-world experience,” Cox said. “We want students to have that experience of what they might encounter in a real world setting if they apply to real galleries. We’re in the learning process, as well, because we’re learning how to be curators, how to put on a good show and how to choose what fits and what feels right.”

This year, SAMA is focusing on publicizing, recruiting members and getting more students interested in art, regardless of major or department. The club is looking to improve its online presence with its Facebook page and Weebly site, and this year, the club had a booth at Fall Fest.

“Advertising is definitely something we’re looking to expand this year,” said sophomore Reed Macdonald, secretary of SAMA. “Because a lot of artists and students at UNC don’t know about us, and so we definitely want to make more of a name for ourselves this year and really get out there.”

Cox said SAMA also wants to incorporate the gallery into a collaborative space with artists and possibly other outside groups.

“We’re starting to try and develop a lot more plans this year. I know last year we were kind of on a hiatus, and we were low on members,” Cox said. “But this year we seem to be stepping up our game, and a lot of people in our group have a lot more involvement now.”

Macdonald said the theme of silence is especially topical and now is a good time for SAMA to showcase how people and artists react to the word ‘silence’ and experience it in a visual way.

“In this time now, the connotations around ‘silence’ can be really charged,” Macdonald said. “Now is the time to really explore these ideas, and the SAMple show is a great example of how culture today, especially at UNC, muses on this idea of silence.”

Macdonald emphasized the accessibility of the show. 

“Even if you’re in the middle of a class change, feel free to walk in,” Macdonald said. “It’s definitely something that if someone’s just walking by or if they have an hour or two to spare can definitely go check it out.”

Strube hopes the show, along with SAMA’s efforts to reach out this year, will allow student artwork and the arts department as a whole to have a greater presence on campus.

“We want art to be shown here, put the arts department in a good light, and show that the students are making really great work and that this show is a way of us not being silent,” Strube said.

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