Launched in 2015, the UMC Student Arts Program showcases artwork by CU Boulder students.听Artwork can be in any medium, such as photography, paintings, collages or sculpture.听
The UMC Student Arts Program is hosting an art walk for the new art pieces that have been added to the collection. The theme for this year鈥檚 program is Empower the Future, and students were asked to consider the theme in their creations. Graduate students and undergraduates in any major may enter their art.
The 11 pieces chosen this year are displayed throughout the UMC. The top three student winners will be announced Friday, May 4, during an event held in The Connection on the first floor of the UMC, 4 to 6 p.m. Judging is based on originality, theme, impact and craftsmanship.
Two of the participants talk听about their art.
Serene Singh
Singh听is a junior studying political science and journalism with a minor in leadership studies. Creating art is her passion and a way for her to express what鈥檚 on her mind by putting concepts and ideas into a visual context. This is her first submission in an art show.听
The title of her art piece is听The Kaur Values of Freedom, Justice and Beauty. Kaur is her middle name and translates to 鈥減rincess.鈥� Her piece represents the ideals of bravery, equality and strength through the image of a Sikh woman wearing a turban.
To create the piece, Singh used pastels, watercolors, crayons, plus an unconventional medium. When she couldn鈥檛 get the color of the woman鈥檚 skin to her liking, she used her own makeup.听As she was painting, Singh thought about the idea of religious freedom and tolerance, and the empowerment of women.听
The turban is controversial in America,鈥� Singh said. 鈥淚 want you to see a woman wearing a turban who鈥檚 representing herself proudly and not afraid to display her faith and define her worth in a society that not understand it. It鈥檚 not a self-portrait per se, but it鈥檚 how I want all women, including myself, to see themselves.鈥�
She believes art can communicate and speak to people in a personalized way, and that art can challenge people to internally investigate their own thoughts without saying a word.
Singh is a member of numerous groups and organizations on campus, including the Boettcher Scholars, Presidents Leadership Class, Colorado Bhangra, Political Science Honor Society and University of Colorado Student Government, where she serves as chief justice of the CU Supreme Court. She won a prestigious Truman Scholarship, CU Boulder鈥檚 11th recipient and first since 2014.听
As the current America鈥檚 Junior Miss and former Miss Colorado Teen titleholder, Singh started a nonprofit called The Serenity Project to empower at-risk and marginalized women to build confidence and self-esteem. She coaches the women participating in the project on speaking skills, confidence and self-esteem. She also coaches low-income students in speech and public speaking skills.
This summer, Singh will be interning for a number of organizations and will attend the Global Changemakers Summit in Switzerland. After graduating, she plans to attend law school with a goal of one day becoming a Supreme Court justice.
Lau Malaver
Malaver听is finishing a master鈥檚 degree in education policy. Malaver鈥檚 art submission is a small abstract painting titled听Something Gone and New.听(Malaver听prefers to use the gender-neutral plural pronouns they/their.)
Using oils and acrylics on canvas, Malaver was inspired to visually portray a transitional period that a close friend was undergoing. The piece features a human figure split in two, one half in white and the other in black.
I wanted to understand the dynamic of that person going through a transition related to gender and their partner,鈥� Malaver said. 鈥淲e are in a time when there are opportunities for some people to really feel like they can be themselves, whether that鈥檚 changing their name, getting married or changing their body. This is a fundamental time to take care of those around us who have identity struggles and find,听by changing certain things about themselves, they can feel some peace.鈥�
Wanting people to see the duality in the painting, Malaver wrote, 鈥淭his piece lets a past desire reach the present that is no longer present but lives in the future. It is empowering to change our lives as the narratives around us incorrectly shape us.鈥�
This is Malaver鈥檚 first submission in an art show. While Malaver uses art as a medium for expressing thoughts and feelings, their main conveyance is writing creative nonfiction and short stories.听
Malaver, who earned an undergraduate degree at CU Boulder, plans to stay at CU to get a doctorate听in ethnic studies and then teach.听
鈥淎rt is a space for us to put all our feelings and thoughts on canvas,鈥� Malaver said. 鈥淭he creativity of expression has empowered me to do other things related to my identity of being Latina and gay, like getting scholarships. That involvement has allowed me to help others who are LGBTQ or persons of color.鈥�
