Student artists shared their passion with the Durham College (DC) community at ‘Art in The Pit’.

Third-year Fine Arts students displayed examples of their remarkable work while helping attendees develop their own artistic talents. The free event featured activities like origami, sticker stations, drawing prompts, colouring pages, trivia, prizes and more.

For many of the students, it was the first time they had ever shared their art with an audience. That made it an invaluable opportunity for them according to Dani Crosby, Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Media, Art and Design.

“It’s about understanding yourself and how you’d like to share your art with the world in a barrier-free way,” she said. “It’s creating little entry points for creativity that are about social engagement, not monetization.”

‘Art in The Pit’ was produced in collaboration with the LivingRoom Community Art Studio. A charity dedicated to community development through the creation and sharing of art, LivingRoom is comprised of artists who take part in classroom discussions and provide an example to DC students of how they can connect and engage with the public as artists.

One of the goals for the day was encouraging all DC students to get in touch with their creative sides, and Crosby was encouraged to see how many visitors took part in the event and how her Fine Arts students interacted with them.

“It’s very cathartic for anyone to create something without thinking in terms of quality or skill level. There’s value in simply sitting down, disengaging from whatever might be stressing you out and engaging in this particular setting,” she said. “There’s a very therapeutic quality to it.”

The benefits to the Fine Arts students themselves were considerable as well. For Elijah Mackenzie, it was a great way to prepare for future events.

“Opportunities like these give you a good gauge on what it’s going to be like at art vendors and festivals, because it’s essentially the same thing,” he said.

His classmate Meghan Costello agreed.

“It’s really good practice engaging with people and talking about art, because sometimes we get used to being in a classroom,” she said. “Speaking with students who normally don’t engage with art on a regular basis has been really fun.”