Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
The Kitao Gallery – Swarthmore’s space for student art exhibits – is gearing up for another exciting semester. Along with their traditional spring shows, the gallery is looking forward to much-needed gallery maintenance, as well as some brand-new events.
There will be some maintenance work done on the gallery to bring it up to date as an exhibition space. “We’re going to be able to make quite a few improvements on the gallery and see a lot of our long term goals realized,” said Kate Goertzen ’09. For example, “the current lighting system was installed many years ago, and it’s time for an upgrade.”
Spring events will include Kitao’s annual shows in connection with Family Weekend, the culmination of Art majors’ Junior Workshop, and Sager week. The Sager show is dedicated to student art on themes related to love, sexuality, and eroticism.
One event in the planning stages is a student art sale. The sale would give students a chance to make some money from their work while also benefitting a good cause. Goertzen explained that “artists will be able to set their own prices and a dollar from each sale will be donated to a yet-to-be-determined charity.”
Sarah Burford ’08 said, “I’m definitely quite excited about the art sale–we’re hoping to make it a large event and combine it with some sort of evening coffeehouse/music event that weekend.”
The Kitao Board is also working with Drama Board to organize a 24-Hour Design Festival to take place alongside the 24-Hour Theater Festival. Although details are still being worked out, Burford envisions a day in which “students will be given Kitao’s space to work on set and/or costume design in one 24-hour period, culminating in a show at the end of the 24 hours exhibiting what they come up with.”
If you are interested in participating in the student art sale, or have ideas for another exhibit, get in contact with the Kitao Board (kitaogallery at gmail dot com) as soon as possible.
