Art students once again, ask for solutions
Timothy Chapman
Timothy Chapman / Vaquero Radio
Last Tuesday, the College of Fine Arts held their monthly town hall meeting on the Brownsville campus. Where students expressed their dissatisfaction with the current conditions of the art department.
Studio Art Senior Yental Marquez, asked Dean Jeffrey Ward, about the several leaks present in the printmaking room, this issue is currently destroying the work of students.
“It’s just getting like gross yellow water all over the tables and floors, ” Marquez said. “Is there any possibility that they’re going to be relocated sooner? but yeah, it’s just there’s just been small fixes to everything that doesn’t really give a full solution. And there’s not just leaks in the printmaking room there’s leaks in the dark room and leaks in painting there’s leaks in drawing and I even saw leaks in the Cortez Hall so it’s just it’s small fixes that like, oh they, they did fix it. They go fix it and then it’s just they never did?”
Although small fixes were done to the room, it is still not a complete solution.
The Dean of the College of Fine Arts Jeffrey Ward stated the issues come with UTRGV leasing the building from TSC, making this the main reason why the issue has not been solved.
“The university wants to kind of put a moratorium on leasing any more space from TSC,” Ward said. “There’s a lot of moving parts on this is to get out of these spaces as quickly as we can but in order to do that, we have to have a place to go. And so we’re in that phase right now, is trying to say, We know we want permanent space. We know we want to get out of the space we’re in. What’s the bridge for that? And Professor Pogue and I have been working on this with folks in facilities and with Dr. Arney And I think we’re getting closer to a solution.”
Graduate Teaching Assistant Kimberly Sandoval said the School of Art and Design is growing rapidly. She believes it is important for Dean Ward to attend the events that showcase students’ work.
“I think it’s also on you yourself as the Dean to also make an attempt to come to our exhibitions,” Sandoval said. “We don’t get to see you very often, but the times we do get to see you is in meetings like this, I think it’s important that if you make a presence, if you make your presence known that you are supporting our efforts the rest of the university will follow.”
Ward quickly responded to Sandoval’s comments on him not attending the events.
Jeffrey Ward “Let me just say very quickly, I’m there, I mean maybe I missed you, but I come to a lot of the exhibits, receptions,” Ward said.
Sandoval then asked the dean if he was referring to exhibits and receptions on the Brownsville or Edinburg campus. Ward replied “both.”
“Because I have not seen you in Brownsville,” Sandoval said.
Ward responded to Sandoval saying they probably missed each other.
History and Studio Art Double Major Alyssa Christiansen said she does believe that the School of Art and Design Director Ed Pogue is trying to help students any way he can even if it is simple things that can be taken care of quickly.
“I know it can be fixed easily because for design too, we’re in the sculpture room,” Christiansen said. “We needed an extra room to store all of our stuff because they bring in extra [classes] in there. Originally we were storing stuff in an upstairs loft. You have to take a ladder up there. That’s a safety hazard couldn’t do that. So, these are issues that can be resolved quickly and easily. It’s just that no one wants to take the responsibility to do it.”
According to Sandoval the art building used to be accessible to students 24 hours a day but ever since joining the UT system, the building opens for studio hours in the morning and closes in the evening.
Studio art Junior Annie Snelson said it is very difficult for art students to do homework, work on other projects or just find enough time outside of class to use the resources available in the art building.
“We can’t just take our homework home on our computers and do it like an essay, like how other majors can,” Snelson said. “You have to do it in certain conditions with the materials we have there, because you can’t take them home.”
She said herself along with her friends and fellow art students have attended every monthly town hall meeting and ask the same questions and concerns, but they always get the same responses from Dean Ward.
“I know that the Dean gets frustrated answering them, but we get, so frustrated asking them,” Snelson said. “It’s like it’s embarrassing. You keep asking, it feels like I’m begging.
This is Timothy Chapman for Vaquero Radio.
