Breezeway art show to display student talent

The lower quad will have craft vendors.

The upper quad will feature a controlled myriad of music, games, contests and inflatables.

The breezeway, in between the two sections of campus, will also have a coherent theme at this weekend's 2005 Spring Fair. This middle ground will house the art.

While a photography contest is a staple at Spring Fair, this year the exhibited photographs, which come from the shutters of not only Hopkins students and faculty, but also members of the community, have been relocated from their previous home in front of the library to join the artwork of homeless citizens being displayed by Project Plase, a Baltimore organization that works for people lacking ample shelter and employment.

The change in location, according to Spring Fair Games and Contests Chair Rachelle Cruz, was aimed at increasing crowds for the upper quad activities and events.

"We wanted to attract more traffic to the upper quad," she said.

The pairing of the two exhibits also just seemed to make sense. "We thought it would be an appropriate match," Cruz said.

The photography contest, which the Games and Contests Committee, also responsible for the activities and events on the upper quad, freshman quad, and the beach as well as a dunk tank to be run by Student Council and the Residents Advisory Board, has been publicizing since early March and will be judged on Friday.

Interested students may still enter their work by bringing it to the Spring Fair Office in the Mattin Center until that day. Photographs may be black-and-white or color, they must be larger than 3 x 5 inches, and though students may submit multiple photographs for display on racks on the breezeway, only two will be judged.

Approximately 30 photographs have been submitted so far, mostly by Hopkins students.

"There are a fair amount of faculty members, but mostly it's students," Cruz said. "I'm happy with the diversity of the people that entered."

Contest winners will likely receive gift certificates as their prizes.

The Project Plase exhibit is being facilitated by the Center for Social Concern, and in addition to showcasing artwork, the organization will be educating fairgoers about their organization.

"I'm pretty sure they'll be setting up with some information about what they do," Cruz said.

In the eyes of organizers, both the contest and the Project Plase exhibit provide venues for students and community members to interact and get involved with this year's Fair.

"It's another way that people can participate," said this year's Spring Fair Co-Chair Karina Schumacher, adding that such a contest might appeal to students attending the nearby Maryland Institute College of Art.

Cruz agrees and notes that the artwork displayed will leave community members with the impression that Hopkins is more than a science mecca. "I think the goal of Fair is to have the community and the University interact," she said. "I think this brings the community in to appreciate another aspect of Hopkins life."