Gift Festival

Posted by Nicholas Beckman in Santa Fe, Visual Arts

The students huddled together on the couches inside of the art barracks on Wednesday night. They all seemed very comfortable with each other, chatting lightly before getting instruction from Nick Chiarella, the teacher of the Interdisciplinary Arts Collective (IAC). Once Chiarella began class, he made ample room for discussion about how they were going to spend the rest of the class period. This class on this day, in particular, was the last one in which the group could meet before their big event, so efficiency was key. Despite the urgency in his words, Chiarella’s tone was relaxed and confident about his students. He even told them to make some time to speak with the Jackalope staff.

For the entirety of the semester, the class has been planning a group art project that displays students’ work and allows for a healthy community of creativity and sharing. After much classroom discussion and ideas evolving into completely new ideas,  IAC decided to host a music festival at school. The Gift Music Festival, as they named it, won’t be the typical over-priced and flooded with first-time acid-trippers festival.

Instead, it will host artwork contributed by the students who participated in the Make Shit Party!, an event also created by IAC. The Make Shit Party lent students art supplies to make whatever they pleased. Their work, or “gifts,” were  then grouped together and will be displayed at the festival and put up for sale at a silent auction on Dec. 6. The proceeds from the silent auction will go toward funding a student’s personal art project.

“I’m not used to working in large groups,” said Ashley Willis, a student in IAC. Willis was busy creating displays for the “gifts” to be set on. Her “gift displays” were triangular boxes, fitted with various holes for an inside light to shine through, and placed atop pillars. This idea came from a collaboration with other students, something Willis had only recently adopted.

Other students cleaned the Squish to make room for the festival. Some were finishing up their own contributions to the festival. One student presented the staff passes they designed themselves, so that they could wear them with pride at the event. Chiarella asked the students whether they wanted to wait until Friday to wear them or if they wanted them now. Like children who were offered a chance to open a birthday present a week early, the class eagerly chose the latter.

The Gift Music Festival starts at 5 pm, Friday Nov. 8-9 and takes place at the Squish (located at the art barracks on the back-side of campus) and Alumni Hall. Admission for non-gift-givers is $5 a day. Click here for gift ideas.