Bright colors from digital illustrations and photographs of various people and places covered the blue and green backgrounds as students and faculty members circled the room in awe.
On Wednesday, the Latinx Chicanx Center for Advocacy and Student Affairs hosted an art exhibition titled “A Celebration of Latinx Creativity.”
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USC students and faculty came together to celebrate Latine creativity through photography, drawings and design. Artists involved in the event range from all backgrounds and ages. Each artist submitted their work ahead of time to be showcased within the center. Student artists used this event as an opportunity to not only display their own work, but also celebrate others from all across USC’s campus.
Olivia Diaz, a member of La CASA, and a sophomore majoring in health promotion and disease prevention studies attended the event.
“I absolutely love getting to go and celebrate not only my own culture but also just students here at USC,” Diaz said. “I think that this was an amazing opportunity to get to go and just support other USC and Hispanic students.”
The exhibition served as an opportunity for Latine students to showcase their art, showing the variety of different backgrounds and cultures on campus. Carina Lee, a freshman majoring in architecture, attended the art exhibition.
“The art at the exhibition is a visual and symbolic representation of their background and culture,” Lee said. “At USC, it’s really important to promote different voices and backgrounds.”
Many students found the event as a way to bring art to students of different interests and backgrounds. Students found that art can be an outlet to express and connect to one’s culture and identity.
“I attended this event to really learn more about art and how it connects with culture and how art can convey your culture,” Lee said. “You can really learn to appreciate your own but also other people’s different backgrounds.”
Members of USC’s community found this event to be an unique experience for them to learn more about their peers’ individual identities and experiences.
“Getting to talk to [the artists] and getting to listen to them explain why they are so special and getting to hear their stories and their perspectives on their own art was really interesting and definitely made the viewing experience a lot more enjoyable.” Diaz said.
Events such as these serve as a way to not only highlight students, but also La CASA. La CASA and other cultural centers in Wilson Student Union serve as a resource for students to connect, find community and celebrate culture.
“I think it was great to sort of get more student involvement, even if that’s just bringing people to the Student Union,” Diaz said. “They can see everything that the Student Union has to offer. La CASA hosted it beautifully, though. They did a really good job putting a great spotlight on these amazing Hispanic artists.”
Beyond the setting of the event, many students saw this space as an opportunity to connect with their peers, display their work and also show the student body their own personalities and interests.
Miguel Moya, a senior majoring in health and human sciences, had the opportunity to showcase his artwork at the event. Moya displayed several photographs he had taken as a way to express his identity.
“There was a reason why I selected the photos that I did out of the hundreds of other ones that I took that same day,” Moya said. “It’s important for us to have these types of showcases to really get to know the artist and to really get to understand what it is that motivates them.”
Students found this event to be a great way to gather in a familiar space and come together around one common cause — fostering a space of inclusivity and creativity. La CASA offers a space for members of USC to come together and express themselves, whether creativity or personally.
“I love seeing familiar faces [here],” Moya said. “I come to La CASA a lot. I come to study. I come to just make friends, seeing familiar faces and being able to show a little bit more in depth of who I am.”
