What began as just a vague idea by seniors Amos Egleston and Christina Sedall to unite Lawrentians is now a student-run art show series called Uncovered that accepts submissions of art in any medium. In the winter of 2019, the two friends expressed to each other their concern that art is not always an accessible space to inhabit here at Lawrence and discussed ideas of what they could do to change that. The idea soon became a plan. Sedall commented that the show’s name, Uncovered, highlights one of its goals, to “show people who you don’t think are making art.” They brought together smaller art clubs such as Film Photography Club, Active Archives and the IlLUstrator Zine, among others, and reached out to other students directly, such as senior Claire Zimmerman, who runs the IlLUstrator. By doing so, they were able to create a support network of students who helped each other with projects that they had coming up within all of their clubs. In addition, each of the clubs was able to engage in more interdisciplinary work.
The past two Uncovered shows had open-ended themes. This allowed students to submit any work they had made in the past, as well as any current projects they were working on. However, with the third Uncovered show coming up on Jan. 31, the organizers have taken their concept a step further by placing a theme on the event. “How We Cope in our Climate Changed Home” pushes for people to, as Zimmerman said, find a time and a space to process the emotions surrounding the ongoing climate change crisis. The show organizers provided prompts for pieces of art, such as: How has the climate crisis influenced you? What is a place in nature that is most important to you? What would a healing world look like to you? What does the Earth provide for you? What is another issue that you see related to the climate crisis? How do you feel? What scares you? And what gives you hope? These prompt ideas are meant to act as encouragement for those who may feel stuck in the creative process. It is also meant to prompt art that really addresses what students may feel they do not have the time to discuss amongst everything else they are involved in. The pieces can be unfinished and as informal as the artist wants, as the project is, more than anything else, a way of using art to feel connected when it is so easy to feel alone in the face of these topics.
The organizers involved have been thrilled so far with the submissions they have received, and they hope that people will continue to submit their work and be a part of this show. The deadline for submitting has been extended from Jan. 17 to Jan. 24, and submissions should be sent to uncoveredartshow@gmail.com. Please include your name as you would like to be credited, title of the piece (if applicable) and medium. Uncovered Art Show is seeking both visual and performing artists to participate. Updated information on the show can also be found on their Instagram page @uncoveredartshow and their Facebook page Uncovered Art Show.