On Monday morning, the current Interim President of BC, Gary Locke, emailed out to staff and students a proposition for Bellevue College. He introduced the idea of allowing a corridor on campus dedicated to different forms of art (paintings, pictures, murals, etc.) surrounding the themes of Diversity and Social Justice. It is emphasized that this proposal, which had been explored since last summer, would be a great addition to our institute.
Currently, a possible area where the art could be displayed is being considered: the corridor that runs through the center of campus surrounded by the A, B, C, and D Buildings. The plan indicates that the artwork would be a “visual representation of our ongoing commitment to affirm and uplift the diverse identities with the BC community and our commitment to social justice.”
The school had been trying to find a sustainable, accessible, and affordable way to hang up the art murals on the brick walls of our campus without damaging the material. Because they are planning to hang up the art on the walls for a long duration, they needed to find a convenient and lasting solution. After consulting with professional art installation experts, they decided that the most sustainable approach would be to glue an array of special pieces of paper on the walls, which they could then place the art on top of. This special paper can be easily removed when necessary and won’t cause damage to our campus walls.
Locke mentions that in continuing with this event, he hopes for the inclusion of our BC community. He proposes that a committee of faculty, staff, and students, which would represent a vast variety of our campus, would select the artwork and/or ideas from the proposals submitted. The committee would also be in charge of establishing organizational tasks, such as guidelines and procedures for the submission, as well as the selection, duration, and financing of the artwork. The artwork is planned to be selected and hung up on BC’s walls by early September of this year.
If being a participant in the committee sounds like something you’d be interested in, President Locke has referred to an online form where submissions can be sent no later than May 7. We hope to receive more updates on this proposal soon.
