Alexis Reape ’16: Install-It, the Episcopal Academy’s newest art club, meets on Mondays at lunch in Room 119, the 3-D Design Studio, in the Crawford Campus Center. Its club members strive to display student work beyond the Crawford Campus Center. Student curator Nellie Konopka ‘16 explained, “Our mission is to bring arts outside of the campus center… to prove that art is part of our campus and not just part of the art center.”
Photo courtesy of Brian Seam ’16
Install-It is comprised of Hilary Hutchison, Faculty Advisor and Middle and Upper School Art teacher; student curators Nellie Konopka ‘16, Charlie Jordan ‘16, Piper Hartman ‘16; and a slew of other students aiming to hone in on all areas of their artistic prowess. These students seek to integrate art across the campus.
Hutchison explained, “I just thought that it would be a good idea because a lot of students have come in here and talked about wanting to do either collaborative type work, like murals or mosaics, or build sculpture out of recycled materials, and so it just seemed like a good idea.”
Konopka added, “[The Arts] have no credit outside of the Campus Center. We hear about sports all over the campus…you don’t hear about art unless you’re in the studio.” The Install-It club has been popular among avid art students and it has been aiming to expand their weekly meetings to twice a week in order to accommodate the work that has to be done.
Install-It has already made a name for itself through many of its recent installations. Its first installations began in the Campus Center in conjunction with the Upper School Science Department. Install-It has created a stained-glass inspired diamond molecule made out of sheets of colored plastic and is currently on display on the third floor of the Hill Science Center. “It looks really pretty. You have to go check it out,” encouraged Hutchison. “There’s going to be different colors and different combinations of molecules.”
“The Science Department is still looking for artwork,” Hutchison announced. “To anyone who has any science-related artwork that they would like to bring in, Mrs. Mitchell and I are getting all of that hung. We’re trying to get art outside of the campus center and into other places, and also do some collaborative type work.”
Bringing the art experience outside of the Upper School is another goal that Install-It strives for in the EA community. “In the Middle School circle, we’re thinking of doing some sort of tree,” said Hartman. Konopka elaborated, “We’re trying to do some kind of sculptural outside aspect with recycled materials; maybe a tree with bottles for leaves and flowers.” Hutchison teaches a Middle School 3-D Art elective and suggested, “Upper School students can design it and build it with the Middle School students during Z block.”
Aside from just creating art, both club leaders and members also learn about writing proposals for art projects, and some of the more technical aspects of art, such as matting, framing, and hanging. Members learn to present work through means of professional exhibition techniques. Konopka concluded, “We install art around the campus. We Install-It.”