Story by Sydney Schettler | Contributing Writer
Photos by Lauren Harwood | Photographer
MTSU students were given the opportunity to sell and promote their art at the Art Festival in collaboration with the ‘Boro International Festival outside of the Student Union Building on Saturday.
The Art Festival was organized by Morgan Butler to provide a real-world experience for students who wanted to sell their art.
“Last year, I had transferred in. My old school had an art festival, but it was more like an open house. MTSU had just come back to campus, and I felt we were missing some energy here. I thought the artists should really get involved,” Butler said.
She said that last year she was able to get in touch with some people in the art department and put together an event that was much smaller than this year’s festival.
“It was so successful that people immediately wanted a spring one, but since it was just me, I was like ‘I cannot do a spring one I need a second,’. [This year] we were able to partner with the ‘Boro International Fair because they were doing it at the perfect time, and they wanted to bring in MTSU students and artists. So, we worked together, and we made it even bigger and better,” Butler said.
MTSU’s American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) participated in the event to help raise funds for future conferences and events, including a New York trip next semester.
AIGA’s president, Iman, said “We provide resources and internships for all of the graphic design students, but you don’t have to be a graphic design student to be a member.”
She also said that the program helps provide internships and helps give advice for students who have portfolios coming up.
Each vendor had a unique style in their artwork with some vendors were selling digitally made art and others selling hand-painted pieces.
Delany Rohrs had hand-made jewelry such as mini croissant earrings, mini waffle earrings, and mini-Frank’s Red Hot earrings.
She said she participated in the art festival last year and liked it so much that she came back to do it again this year.
“Sometimes my taste is a little eclectic so it’s nice to see other people who like the same stuff,” Rohrs said.
Another artist, Eily Jacobs, was selling her comic art. She said, “I’m promoting and selling my comic series I’m working on. In my free time, I just kinda sit at my computer, sketch out chapters, create line art and get everything done. I enjoy it and I love seeing the audience’s reaction to it so that’s why I’m selling it here.”
To contact Lifestyles Editor Ethan Pickering, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com.
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