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Students in various disciplines displayed and presented their works in the Fine Art Gallery 3 on the WSU Pullman campus this spring to express how they interact with and view social justice in today\u2019s world.<\/p>\n
Co-creator of the Art for Social Change competition (AFSC), Ana Maria Rodriguez-Vivaldi<\/a>, associate professor and associate dean of Student Affairs and Global Education in the College of Arts and Sciences, wanted this showcase to highlight the issues that the younger generation thinks about.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted deal also with other expressions of social justice. Really not just what had happened until [the civil rights movement] but also what other aspects of civil rights have risen since then,\u201d Rodriguez-Vivaldi<\/a> said.<\/p>\n She began the afternoon showcase with a welcome and thank you to the School of Languages, Cultures, and Race, the Martin Luther King Committee, the Department of Fine Arts, and the Department of English who helped make the event possible. After her speech, the event transitioned to the live performances of the student artists.<\/p>\n Monica Ward stepped up to a wooden piano wearing a silver-metallic winter coat with a hood covering part of her face. She posed her fingers on the keys, then began to fill the gallery with music that she composed in honor of the civil rights movement. She wanted her work to inspire those to never stop dreaming.<\/p>\n \u201cI was taken aback when that young lady just stood next to the piano. She didn\u2019t even sit down. She didn\u2019t even take off her coat. She played so beautifully,\u201d Rodriguez-Vivaldi<\/a> said.<\/p>\n Ward was awarded the top submission in the Remembering MLK and Revitalizing the Dream category. Ward created her piece at 2:00 a.m. as she experienced an empty, depressing mood in the dark of the night, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think a lot of people are in a dark shadow right now. I think my music can heal,\u201d Ward said.<\/p>\n Celeste Estrada, artist of \u201cGarden of Dreams,\u201d created a painting in the healing process of dealing with the many attacks towards the Crimson Group during the 2016 presidential election. She was co-chair for the Crimson Group, an activist and support group for undocumented students and allies.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is nice to take a break from the academic work and create something that fulfills you in a different, creative way,\u201d Veronica Sandoval,<\/a> American studies graduate student, said.<\/p>\n Sandoval\u2019<\/a>s poem, \u201cCanto y Grito, Para Dr. Ricardo Sanchez<\/a> Post Card for an Altar,\u201d was written to remind Sanchez<\/a>, former Chicano poet and WSU professor of creative writing and Chicano studies, that the Chicanx community continues to do the kind of work he did.<\/p>\n \u201cThe poem resembled the resiliency of students surviving this space and the continuation that the Chicano movement did,\u201d Sandoval<\/a> said.<\/p>\n At AFSC, Sandoval<\/a> read her poem aloud for the students, faculty, and other members of the community to hear. Sandoval<\/a> received the Campus Civic Poet award for her poem and civic work in the community.<\/p>\n Among other winners, Ray Acuna-Luna was awarded the top submission in the Community Building at WSU category for \u201cA Collective Representation of the Intersections of Gender, Race, Class, and Education Among First Generation Students of Color at Washington State University.\u201d<\/p>\n His mosaic work was a collaborative piece created by 16 WSU first-generation students of color as a project in their class. Acuna-Luna believes that the showcase gave him a glimpse into the students\u2019 experiences.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the showcase the Art for Social Change competition is a safe space for students to have their voices heard, understood, and appreciated,\u201d Acuna-Luna said.<\/p>\n Another award winner, Graduate student Theresa Williams, enjoyed seeing the different perspectives students had to offer, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI can see they\u2019re revealing themselves. They don\u2019t have fear to express themselves,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n The WSU Department of Fine Arts<\/a> awarded Williams the inaugural Fine Arts Choice award for her painting, \u201cTransparent.\u201d\u00a0 Undergraduate Kendra Robinson was awarded the top submission in the for Social Justice in Action category, for her painting, \u201ctwo hundred sixty three.\u201d<\/p>\n In total, 19 students submitted works to the competition. One high school student, four graduate students, and 15 undergraduate students submitted a total of 21 works for the competition.<\/p>\n There were six poetry pieces, one poster, three creative writing works, five paintings, one musical performance, one sculpture, two drawings, and one digital media piece submitted to the competition.<\/p>\n To view other submissions, visit the School of Languages, Cultures, and Race website.<\/a><\/p>\n In the future, Rodriguez-Vivaldi<\/a> wants the showcase to grow to include more student artists.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want it to become an event students can look forward to every year because it represents all the students,\u201d Rodriguez-Vivaldi<\/a> said.<\/p>\n![\""Celeste](\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-cas\/uploads\/sites\/3219\/2019\/04\/Estrada-Celeste_Garden-of-Dreams-396x323-396x323.jpg\")
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