The Arts and Culture Association provides a social space for students to create and celebrate art. From weekly meetings to field trips, students can cultivate their creative skills in many ways within the club.

Previously, the club was known as the Visual Arts Society. According to the club’s president, junior visual arts major Autumn Smedley, the Visual Arts Society was a hit within the art department for many years until the COVID-19 pandemic caused its dissipation. 

Students attempted to rebrand the club as the Arts and Culture Association, but it struggled to become anything more than an interest group. Smedley sought to get the ACA recognized by the university in Summer 2023, and on Nov. 7, 2023, the ACA became officially recognized as a student organization.

The ACA hosts weekly activities for students to engage with different art mediums. Previously, on Oct. 16, the club created collages, an art form that involves creating new images by gluing materials onto a surface. The club works with any art medium they can access, with the art studios on campus providing materials for them to use. Students can also participate in peer critiques during club meetings as well.

During semester breaks, the club organizes field trips to various art-centered events. Over the summer, students traveled to New Orleans to tour professional art studios and visit local galleries. 

Students can also submit their artwork to the club’s Instagram during semester breaks to be featured in posts as examples of weekly prompts. At the beginning of breaks, the club’s social media page will post the weekly prompts that students can respond to by submitting their artwork.

The club’s vice president, Michah Leverett, a senior visual arts major, spoke about her experience and role in the club. 

“I have a lot of fun thinking of different ideas we can do as a group and ways to invigorate the art department. When I got here, it was very quiet, kind of lacking, and not much of a community, so I’m always thinking of ways we can do stuff together and get to know each other,” Leverett said.

The ACA will host its “Clark-o-Ween” event from 5-9 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 28. The event will host activities in art department labs, including painting, photography, sculpture and ceramics. They’ll be using screenprinting equipment, so students can bring a shirt to the event and have a student-designed print placed on it.

Smedley said the ACA offers students an important opportunity to network with fellow artists.

“We work to foster connections between our artists here. As a club, we work to provide opportunities for our members, such as going to galleries and touring professional art studios,” Smedley said. “As a community, we all support each other, and we give advice and encouragement with everyone’s artistic endeavors.”

The club is open to all students on campus and hosts weekly meetings that alternate between Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. 

Students interested in creating a student organization can visit the Office for Student Engagement’s webpage for more information.