University of Idaho students and community members of all ages stopped by the For Freedoms kickstart event on Friday to participate in art as a form of conversation about today’s political climate.
Britani Phelps, a fourth-year UI student studying graphic design, has been helping with For Freedoms since the planning stages. She said the event was meant to be a safe space for both political parties.
“This is an event to come together and progress,” Phelps said. “and hopefully find a great way to resolve and address issues for the future.”
Participants took part in sharing their views on different questions and had the opportunity to express what they wanted through signs that will be placed on the Administration Lawn. After two days students, staff and faculty members will be invited to take signs from the lawn and bring them to their living spaces, any leftover signs will go to the Pritchard Art Gallery.
Pritchard Director, Roger Rowley, hopes to see the signs spread across Moscow and Pullman.
Rowley was a part of the team facilitating the event, providing support and he ensured that there was enough supplies for the event.
Rowley said he worked on logistics, but the event was run by students in the UI visual arts community.
Yard signs that will be laminated and placed on the Admin Lawn before being spread into the community.
The National for Freedoms campaign sent out a call for participants earlier this year in which UI along with other universities across the nation were given an opportunity to participate. Rowley received the invite and began putting the event in motion.
Fourth year student Ethan Coy, a member of the Visual Arts Community who helped plan and facilitate said that the project itself was mostly set up by the department of Art and Design and the Pritchard Art Gallery.
“They needed help getting it into fruition,” Coy said. “And that’s where our group came along.”
With a constant cycle of guests, event facilitators were happy with the turnout.
“It’s absolutely amazing, it’s awesome to see such a small community come out for politics and freely talk about it,” Phelps said.
Event turnout also exceeded Coy’s expectations.
“It’s been really exciting to see so many people come forward,” Coy said. “I think its smaller events like this that can help the bigger discussion.”
Different opinions were discussed throughout the event. Different political questions were posed through writing and attendees were able to join the conversation by adding sticky notes with their views to the walls.
“It is important to participate regardless of political stance and be respectful,” said Sabrina Sirani, President of the Visual Arts Community.
A For Freedoms billboard designed by Phelps and Coy along with other students in the visual art community including Chelsey Flores, Nicole Mashburn, Kiel Kleeburg and Alex Brizee will be installed in Lewiston on Oct. 12, as part of the UI campaign.
Ellamae Burnell can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @EllamaeBurnell.
A previous version of this name misspelled one of the names of the For Freedoms billboard’s contributors.