Tonight, make your way to the Coffee House for pumpkin carving. Every Thursday night, from 7 to 10 p.m., the East Campus hangout becomes an art workshop. According to its mission statement, the Active Arts Collaborative “seeks to build community through active participation in art making and creative exchange among diverse members of the Duke community.” In reality, this translates into a room full of art supplies where everyone is welcome and free expression is encouraged.
An old refrigerator in the coffee house has been filled with a variety of art materials ranging from pastels and paints to floppy disk cases and Styrofoam balls. The arsenal of supplies was almost as broad as the types of artists in the room, who worked on everything from intricate watercolors to T-shirt embroidery. Senior Erica Mutchler, the chair and founder of the Collaborative, used spray paint and lace to make a collage. Wielding the red paint can, Erica explained how even those who don’t think of themselves as artists are creative in some way.
“Everyone is an artist. Art is part of the everyday. When you cook a meal, put makeup on, get dressed or doodle, you are exercising creativity,” Mutchler said. She added that the goal of the collaborative is not to teach art. “It’s a sharing… [there’s] no hierarchy, no authority on what’s right and wrong and what’s art and what’s not,” she said.
Sophomore Katherine Wingate echoed this sentiment as she painted bright stripes and swirls on construction paper.
“Nothing is expected of me here. It’s free expression, unlike other things at Duke, like classes, where I’m expected to come up with something witty or academic or mature,” Wingate said.
The Collaborative has grown to match Mutchler’s original vision. She was inspired by her time last summer with the OFFCenter Community Arts Project in Albuquerque, New Mexico. OFFCenter provided Albuquerque residents with an open art studio for anyone who wanted to produce art. The program was especially aimed at giving a creative outlet to people who normally wouldn’t have artistic opportunities. Many of the participants were homeless, and some were able to truly turn their lives around as a result of the project. After her experience with OFFCenter, Mutchler came to a new awareness about Duke.
“[I realized] there’s not really a space where people could come together, share ideas, exercise creativity… this was so important especially since so many Duke students are career-driven and stressed out. This gives them a place to exercise creativity in a non-stressful environment,” Mutchler said.
The Collaborative was established as a part of the Visual Arts Committee of the Duke University Union this year.
This past week, the collaborative served as a form of decompression. Students walked in, threw their book bags on a ratty armchair and began working on whatever they wanted. They began tossing ideas around for larger group projects, and someone suggested making a piece inspired by K-Ville, using trash left in the area.
Even though the program has just begun, Mutchler already has plans to expand. She envisions an outreach program with local elementary schools, regular workshops on specific topics, and even a magazine where each participant designs a page.
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