Students (from furthest left to right) Preston Romanienko, Andrew Hargy, Yumna Enver, Aman Kashmiri, Stayshey Sagastume-Castillo and Robin Mager draw on a collaborative chalkboard wall at the Mason Gross School of the Arts on Monday. Photo by Jeff Arban/Rutgers University.
For art students, evaluations of their work by faculty can be a nerve-wracking experience.
Steffani Jemison, an associate professor with the Department of Art and Design at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University–New Brunswick, also noticed how students had limited time to connect with each other and their teachers: Some art classes run six hours long and many students either commute or are transfers adjusting to a new setting.
Jemison and fellow faculty members at Mason Gross saw an opportunity to hold a celebration that builds community while providing a warmer, less stressful approach to spring evaluations. So, they created the Art & Design Spring Festival, a weeklong series of workshops, lectures, panel discussions and other events.
“Junior reviews have often created stress for students,” said Jemison, adding that the language and framing of a review may make students feel as though “they are entering a pass-fail exam.”
During Spring Festival, art and design courses have shifted to an asynchronous schedule (something members of the department experimented with last year), allowing students and teachers the time and space to set up installations for evaluation as well as to participate in workshops, talks and other events.
The festival – which kicked off Monday, March 20, with an art supply giveaway and a graduate alumni panel – concludes with a dance party.
Read more about the Spring Festival on Rutgers Today.