ArtLab and Wit and Whimsy work together

By Emmett Tinning – Contributor

On Tuesday, Nov. 7, members of the poetry and literature club Wit and Whimsy, those working with the Community ArtLab, students and community members gathered for a night of arts, crafts and writing. 

The Community ArtLab, a community resource located at Bishop’s, is a bilingual, open and welcoming space for students and community members alike to be free in their creative expression. Guests at their bi-weekly Art Hives have access to a wide array of donated supplies, fit for many kinds of art. Regulars in attendance include Bishop’s students, Champlain College students, as well as Lennoxville and Sherbrooke residents of all ages. 

Wit and Whimsy, the student-run and organized poetry and literature club on campus is a space where students from all disciplines meet weekly to discuss, share and create poetry of all kinds. These two organizations share in their wish to create an effective “Third Space” for artistic expression at Bishop’s, somewhere that is not your home, nor your place of study or work, and have been working together since the beginning of the fall semester to bring to life a collaborative pop-up Art Hive. 

“Collaboration between disciplines is such a great way to meet and connect with people, as well as to feel more included on campus. It’s so important to have spaces that aren’t necessarily academic where you’re free to express a love for what you do,” said second-year student and SRC humanities senator Sonoma Brawley. Brawley, who attended the Art Hive, was one of many guests to partake in activities such as blackout poetry, picking and choosing words from a prewritten text to create a new poem; concrete poetry, poetry written to resemble a shape or picture; and colorful collage making. Guests had access to piles upon piles of newspapers, magazines and periodicals, as well as paints, pens, markers and glue of all kinds to create whatever they wished. The event was a success not only in the eyes of the many attendees but also to both organizing parties. Wit and Whimsy and the ArtLab wished not only to promote each others’ initiatives, but to continue to work together on campus to fuel the thriving love for arts and culture at Bishop’s. 

The Community ArtLab hosts Art Hives twice a week, on Mondays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., as well as Saturdays from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is open to anyone interested and willing to create. They can be found on campus, underneath the Foreman Art Gallery and Centennial Theatre. Wit and Whimsy meets weekly on Tuesdays from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Morris House lounge.