Fair, thou Art

By Bonnie Leung

Students are gathering in the food court this week hoping to discover their aesthetic (in)aptitude.

The Fine Arts Fair, which runs from Nov. 16-19, started with a sculpting competition in the MacEwan Student Centre food court on Tuesday.

According to Students’ Union Events Commissioner Oliver Ho, the fair will make students more aware of the arts.

"There are aspects that involve trying new things you’ve never tried before, such as sculpting or painting," he said. "That’s why we’re having the open ‘jams.’ By doing these we hope to open up these mediums of the arts up to people who would otherwise not have the opportunity."

Students can not only discover their creative side this week, but also possibly get a job.

"A number of other employment and volunteer agencies set up tables over the week [in order] to promote their services and to provide students with a sense of what they can get involved in outside of the U of C," said SU Vice-president Events Jared Lorenz.

Activities planned for the week include: a sculpture competition on Tuesday; a poetry slam on Wednesday; painting on Thursday; and an open music jam on Friday. Events take place at various locations in MacEwan Hall.

"For those less interested in hands-on [art], there are also workshops scheduled for midweek on topics such as new media," said Ho.

Some students enjoyed the Fine Arts Fair.

"I like it," said first-year General Studies student Cliff Regino. "It’s interactive. I wasn’t expecting this since I just got out of class."

Third-year Humanities student Tara Baergen agreed.
"It’s a totally awesome idea," she said. "Hopefully, it’ll encourage students who wouldn’t normally have interest to take a course or actively seek out events in the future."

Other students were less enthusiastic.

"I didn’t know what was going on because it wasn’t advertised or anything," said second-year Management student Anita Misri.