St. Bonaventure University’s Urban Art Club has expanded its horizons in recent months with new projects. Established in 2012, the organization brings students together through the use of art forms such as graffiti, hip hop and rap. The club aims to provide students with an outlet for expression while creating works of art.
“The Urban Art Club wants to define what being an artist is,” Tristan King, a junior strategic communication major and vice president of the club, said. “We always hear students say, ‘I don’t know how to draw. I can only draw stick figures.’ Just because you can’t draw doesn’t mean you’re not an artist and can’t express yourself.”
King, alongside president Marc Peralta, a senior visual arts major, and Sean Conklin, adviser of the club.
“The idea of creating this club started the second semester of my freshman year,” King said. “By my sophomore year, the club had become official and began to grow.”
The Urban Art Club has undergone serious restoration projects on campus. To bring some flair to the biology lab in the Reilly Center, the artists did a full-wall mural last semester. This piece’s main focus was an electrocardiogram (EKG) following behind the silhouette of a running man, displaying a distinct, abstract street-art style.
As another project, the artists began work on revamping the Bona Buddies room. However, the room recently relocated, putting the club’s endeavors at a standstill. The artists hope to complete the project in the near future.
Most recently, the artists planned the Martin Luther King Jr. Day tribute to not only King himself, but some of the most influential figures in both past and present equality movements. This was one of the largest projects the club has undergone.
“Our adviser, [Sean Conklin], started the MLK event and had other members participate,” Peralta said. “We drew murals and portraits of Martin Luther King Jr., Mike Brown and even highlighted social events that were prominent in the news in order to bring awareness to things going on.”
Club members enjoyed preparing for the event as well.
“The overall messages that these drawings send are so powerful and true that it’s hard not to love them,” Nairee Tavares , a freshman strategic communication major said. “I feel like the drawings and the event left people realizing that in some way, shape or form we are all discriminated against and it has to stop.”
At the MLK event, students and staff members walked around campus, stopping at various locations and viewing the works of art the club created. At each station, a statement on the displayed social issue would be read. Not only did the event pay respects to the late King, but it also displayed the club members’ undeniable creativity.
“The club has given me an outlet for expression,” Peralta said. “Since I’m a visual arts student, it’s expected that I should be interested in art. Being in the club brings me closer to the school and the student body, which some people have a tough time doing because of a lack of representation.”
The Urban Art Club hopes that its efforts will be promoted in a new online magazine. The magazine will feature visuals of past and ongoing projects, paired with small blurbs. Club members hope to use this magazine to show the Bonaventure community that creativity is much more than being able to draw. Creativity is the freedom to find a way to express yourself and enjoy doing so. Although the release date of the magazine is unknown, the artists look forward to its official establishment.
“This club is about bringing ourselves and our culture out and displaying it for others to see, so if you have something you want to express, by all means come out,” Taveras said.
mcgurllt14@bonaventure.edu
