Instead of the photo display, paintings or sculptures that usually decorate the walls of the University Art Gallery, long sheets of paper are taped to the walls. Students are now taking their creative visions and putting them on display for the campus to see.
Cal Poly’s first Draw-A-Thon is a chance for students to come and go from the gallery to put their artwork on the walls during the gallery’s hours, Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The exhibit started Feb. 26 and will be open through March 5, when people who attend the closing event will be invited to take the pieces of art home.
This event was created when the artist originally set to exhibit in the University Art Gallery cancelled last minute.
“We had to come up with something really quick,” Gallery Specialist Garet Zook said. “A Draw-A-Thon is a tried and true tradition at lots of art schools.”
There are a few rules for students to participate in the event:
- Drawing materials only (no paint)
- Collaged items can be adhered with glue sticks or tape
- Outside art must be hung with command strips
- Draw only on paper-covered walls
Students who choose to participate can use materials provided on a table in the middle of the gallery, or they may bring their own supplies. They can also bring their own artwork to hang on the wall and fill the space. There are no rules as to what can be drawn, and work can be left anonymously.
“I feel like they’re going to fill up the whole room,” business administration junior Rachel Iuliano said. “I feel like a lot of people who are in here are graphic art majors. I’m not, so this is kind of a new experience. You don’t have to be an artist. I’m not an artist, but I came.”
Past student exhibits displayed at the gallery include the Juried Exhibition and Senior BFA Showcase, but this event gives all students an opportunity to show their work without the pressure that might come with the other high-caliber student exhibits, according to Zook.
“I just generally like participating in art events and I think that it’s a fun way to build community,” art and design senior Eva Olsen said. “I draw a lot in my spare time. This is just an extension of that, but it’s in public, so it’s kind of different.”
The style and precision put into each piece varies, a testament to how many students have come by in the days that the exhibit has displayed.
“We don’t have a featured artist for this show — everyone is featured,” Zook said.
The event will end March 5 with a movie night hosted by Studio Art Club. People are encouraged to take pieces of the exhibit home with them. Pieces that go unclaimed will be “sacrificed to the art gods,” according to the event page on the gallery website.