Hobart and William Smith Colleges

24 October 2013 HWS Celebrates Culture Through Art

As part of the Cultural Arts Celebration on campus this fall, the offices of Intercultural Affairs, Residential Education and Student Activities are proud to sponsor the inaugural cultural arts event, Celebrating Culture Through the Arts.

Held beginning Tuesday, Nov. 5 through Thursday, Nov. 7, the new on-campusevent will feature various works of art by students that represent their heritage and unique backgrounds.Student submissions for the celebration will be presentedand displayed in the Scandling CampusCenter.

This is a significant new event on campus that provides a wonderful opportunity to celebrate who we are, says Assistant Director of Student Activities Jessie Marullo, who is helping to facilitate the event. Learning more about the culture of others is a powerful way to teach, connect, and share through experience.

Submissions for the celebration are due to the Student Activities Center by Friday, Oct. 25, and may include photography, artwork or songs.

Marullo says that Celebrating Culture Through the Arts was devised as a thematic extension of the popular Taste of the World event held annually at HWS each spring.Taste of the World isalso sponsored by Intercultural Affairs, Residential Education and Student Activities.

During Taste of the World, students, faculty, and staff are invited to prepare cuisine thats unique to who they are. Attendees taste awide rangeof food items that celebrate a variety of cultures from around the world. Recent examples of dishes include crepes by the French Club, rainbow cake by the PRIDE Alliance and samosas from Pure Grille.

Over the summer, Marullo along with Assistant Director for Residential Education and Club Sports Darnell Pierce, Program Coordinator for the Office of Intercultural Affairs Darline Polanco 09, and Program Coordinator of Student Activities Denise Polanco 11 convened to plan a sister event to Taste of the World.

That discussion prompted the creation of Celebrating Culture through the Arts for the fall semester. It was decided that using art to celebrate and learn about culture would be a great way to compliment the waymembers of the HWS communityuse food to celebrate culture in the spring, Marullo says.

Prior to establishing the event, Marullo and Darline Polanco had attended the University of Rochesters annual Diversity Conference, which offered a session on cultural experiences with music. In light of that exchange, Marullo says a collaborative effort moved forward at HWS to create Celebrating Culture through the Arts. She says the event will bring together students, faculty, and staff to think about culture and difference through the lens of art and music.