Due to the risks of the coronavirus pandemic, many aspects of life were altered or halted completely in mid-March amidst the placement of government restrictions in order to slow the spread of the virus. Out of all the industries that had to make drastic adjustments, education was greatly affected.
The process of teaching the young minds of tomorrow is one that is used to relying on a combination of in-person instruction, hands-on activities, and the gathering of many students in a classroom. In an effort to conserve space and resources, students often sit together at tables, which makes social distancing difficult. The close proximity in school systems reaches an entirely new level on the foreground of college campuses.
A college campus is specifically designed to fit as many students as possible in various buildings, as most students are expected to live in dorm rooms, eat in dining halls, and share facilities in a community bathroom. Therefore, colleges across the globe faced immense challenges in trying to restructure their campuses to accommodate for the safety of students, staff, and visitors while the coronavirus posed a great risk. This was the case for Western Kentucky’s Murray State University.
Sometime in the middle of Murray State’s annual spring break, it was announced that campus life would stop indefinitely and in-person instruction would be replaced with virtual learning for the remainder of the academic year. While it was a difficult transition for all members of the Murray State community, this created a uniquely challenging experience for the college’s art department.
As an art student, one relies heavily on in-person instruction, since it’s crucial to view many artistic endeavors up close for a better grasp of detail and precision. This is especially true when it comes to utilizing new media and doing projects that require hands-on assistance. But instead of choosing to let the coronavirus negatively affect their projects, Murray State’s art students, along with the help of their professors, decided to turn the situation into fuel for their creative fires.
In an attempt to artistically spread awareness and speak on the experiences of living during the coronavirus, Murray State’s art department facilitated two projects in which students were able to express their feelings while positively educating others.
Under the direction of Professor John Utgaard, ceramics students made the first products of the coronavirus creations for “Quarantainers.” This wittily-titled project entailed ceramics students designing images that Utgaard then turned into decals and fired onto ceramics that he had produced himself. To accomodate coronavirus precautions, the art projects were exhibited virtually, so that students could feel a sense of normalcy and revel in their beautiful creations. Many of the students’ designs reflected their emotions during this turbulent time.
The second project was spearheaded by graphic design professor Jim Bryant. At the start of Murray State’s online learning, Bryant initially assigned his students the same projects that he would’ve given had they been able to meet in person, since graphic design is mostly done on computers. But it didn’t take long for him to observe that students weren’t gaining the same type of fulfillment he had hoped. That’s when he came up with the idea for his students to design infographics about the coronavirus so that they could feel a part of the fight against it in a creative way.
