Tag: Art and design

USF News

USF and SUSE Host Inaugural Virtual Art, Design & Photography Symposium

USF and SUSE Virtual Art Symposium

Joliet, Ill. – The University of St. Francis (USF) and Sichuan University of Science & Engineering (SUSE) in Zigong, China, hosted their inaugural SUSE-USF Virtual Art, Design & Photography Symposium in April 2023.

The three-session event (April 11, April 18, and April 25, 2023​) featured materials by fourteen USF and sixteen SUSE students and were in response to research completed on the Sichuan region and Chicagoland. The live and interactive event allowed student presenters from each institution to discuss art, design, and new media practices in an open forum format with roughly 300 students in attendance at the primary auditorium at SUSE in Zigong, China.

In addition to the symposium, USF students were introduced to traditional and new art practices and culturally significant materials of China. This included Sichuan tie-dying, the Zigong Dinosaur Museum, and the Chinese Lantern Festival in a Topics in Art & Design class during the Spring 2023 semester.

USF student presenters: Stephanie Behland, Karli Ceci, Jaclyn Duske, Ayla Gilmer, Liliana Gomez, Samantha Gonzalez, David Kalter, Jareset Lagunas, Nick Munafo, Mazi Niezgoda, E. Porter, Alvaro Robles, Isaac Rodriguez, and Alana Wendel.

SUSE instructor Zhang Qi (Amber) and Michael “Chester” Alamo-Costello, MFA, professor of art and design at USF, served as symposium facilitators.

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The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 4,000 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 53,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu.

University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose.

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USF News

All-School Art Exhibition Open to the Community

Joliet, Ill. – The University of St. Francis (USF) Art & Design Department recently held its 2021 exhibition and competition. The annual competition is open to all USF students from any major. All students were eligible to receive all prizes regardless of major, with the exception of the Coleman Scholarship, which is awarded to an Art major.

The exhibition is open to the public from now through April 12, 2021, during regular USF Art Gallery hours, which are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The USF Art Gallery is located at 25 E. Van Buren Street (on the corner of Van Buren Street & Scott Street).

The results of the competition include:

  • Coleman Scholarship (awarded to an Art major) – Rylee Carpenter
  • Presidential Purchase Award (a $100 cash purchase award and artwork added to the university collection) – Liliana Gomez, Red;
  • Dean’s Choice Award ($100 cash purchase award, artwork and artwork added to the university collection) – Evelyn Odum, First;
  • Art & Design Award of Excellence ($100 Visa gift card) – Vada Amdt, Gated Garden; Crystal Calderon, Technical; Jaclyn Duske, Forgotten Time; Collin Gilmer, Lake Falls; Jocelyn Hernandez Rodriguez, Afro Futurists; E. L. Porter, Andre Lorde’s Knowledge;
  • Honorable Mention ($25 Visa gift card) – Olivia Burbatt, Tribute to Felix Adler; Riley Harper, Untitled; Nicholas Munafo, Mysterious Figure; Veronica Navarrete, Ghost of You; Caelan Q. Ragain, LG; Jamie Stolfo, Untitled; Emilia Torres, Branding: Taco Loco; Maria Cruz Uceda, Untitled; and Odessa Villarreal, Ziggy.

Follow the USF Art Gallery on Facebook at facebook.com/theuniversityofstfrancisartgallery.

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The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 4,000 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 51,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu.

University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose.

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USF News

USF Introduces Midwest Art to SUSE Students in China

Joliet, Ill. –  A new University of St. Francis (USF) art and design course is bringing Midwest art to students at the Sichuan University of Science and Engineering (SUSE) in China.

USF instructors Paul Erschen, MFA, Department Chair & Associate Professor of Art & Design, and Michael Chester Costello, MFA, Professor of Art & Design, launched their new course, “The American Artist: Chicago & Beyond”, this week over Zoom to a class of approximately 50 students. The course serves to introduce the students at SUSE to the diverse range of studio practices and artistic careers found in Chicago and the Midwest.

“One focus within the course will be on new media, graphic design, performance art, and video. I will be showing works by international artists, including Matthew Barney, Yayoi Kusama, Nancy Burson, Olafur Eliasson, and Nam June Paik, among others,” Costello said.

Erschen added that the new course is part of a long-range plan that includes additional courses and students eventually taking on-campus courses at USF.

“This is a pilot course and will likely lead to additional course offerings as we move forward. For now, we want to introduce students to our teaching style, our art practices, and the careers of artists in the United States,” said Erschen.

Erschen and Costello also hope to do a seminar at the SUSE in China in 2021.

Visit stfrancis.edu/art-design to learn more about the USF Art & Design program.

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Currently celebrating 100 years of higher education rooted in Franciscan values, the University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 4,000 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 51,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu.

University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose.

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USF News

Art Professor Delivers Care Packages

Joliet, Ill. – When University of St. Francis students transitioned to online coursework in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the change was clearly an unanticipated one. On-campus, face-to-face instruction was quickly replaced with off-campus, virtual instruction, and students were challenged with navigating the ins and outs of distance learning. In an effort to ensure that his art majors felt supported throughout their transition to this new learning environment, USF art professor Michael “Chester” Alamo-Costello, MFA, created personalized care packages that he mailed and delivered to students as a way to show his support and concern for them. 

“The packages consisted of an art, design or photography book, comics and some snacks. The contents of each care package was slightly different. For instance, I bought and passed on a photography book to a student concentrating in photography, while a student who plays a sport on campus would get an art book and a book related to another one of their athletic interests,” Alamo-Costello said.

Although the gesture was performed with the needs of his students in mind, Alamo-Costello said that there was more to it than just that.

“In all honesty, this was as much or probably more-so for me. The students have been patient and exemplary in this time of crisis. I needed to thank them for staying focused. Having taught at USF for more than 20 years, I feel very fortunate to continually work with quality young people,” he said.

In addition to the care packages, a series of non-credit summer projects have been organized for students as a way to keep them engaged with their studies.

“These activities help to keep our community connected. Many students are still isolated, and an item to work on appears to be a constructive outlet. Throughout the summer, via Zoom, we are meeting weekly to look at progress of projects and prepare for their return in August,” Alamo-Costello said.

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Currently celebrating 100 years of higher education rooted in Franciscan values, the University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 4,000 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 50,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu.

University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose.

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