Class looks to city for art beyond campus

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Roy Saper has lived in East Lansing for more than 40 years. Although he came to the city simply to attend college, because of East Lansing’s vibrant and exciting artistic atmosphere, he decided he had to stay.

“There (are) so many reasons to live in the Lansing area, and that’s why I chose to live here since I came to MSU in 1969,” said the owner of Saper Galleries, 433 Albert Ave.

Students in professor in the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities Vincent Delgado’s Engagement Pro seminar class currently are working to determine ways in which they can keep artistic MSU graduates, such as Saper, in the Lansing area in the long run. In November, these students held a forum during the unveiling of an exhibit at Metrospace, 110 Charles St., that focused on this issue.

Because too many students — more specifically art students — leave Michigan after their graduation, Delgado said his class hosted the dialogue.

“There were people enjoying an opening reception, viewing art that was locally produced and then talking about how we can get students connected to that kind of wonderfulness,” he said.

Members of Delgado’s class also are looking for ways to reward local businesses that emphasize area art, establishing a student connection with other East Lansing artists.

“If we can help foster those connections, perhaps some students may be interested in staying in Mid-Michigan,” Delgado said.

Delgado and Saper both agree there is not enough interaction between MSU art students and artists within Greater Lansing.

Saper said one main reason for this is students often do not feel the need to branch out beyond the confines of campus.

“When you’re on campus and when you’re in a classroom, it’s a sheltered environment,” he said. “You’re in a box. One has to get off campus and outside of the box of the classroom … to see what the real world offers.”

Studio art senior Jessica Halfyard said she found comfort in the tight-knit community the art department creates and has not attempted to reach out to the community.

“I’ve never felt more comfortable in classes,” she said. “In (Kresge Art Center), everything is so comfortable, and you just feel like everyone you’re with you could hang out with outside of class.”
Halfyard said the majority of her friends now consist of students studying art at MSU.

“Now, as opposed to freshman year where you meet everyone in the dorms, most of my friends are from (Kresge Art Center) just because I spend so much time there,” she said.

Saper said art students such as Halfyard are not uncommon, and more work needs to be done by their professors to push them out into the community to take advantage of what is being offered by local businesses in the industry.

“Sometimes, MSU faculty members are not availing themselves to the opportunities that exist right across the street,” he said. “Those who are in the business world and have been involved in our fields possibly longer than they have been teaching, have the kind of resources that they’re teaching about,” he said. “That suggests there has to be more interaction.”

Residential College in the Arts and Humanities senior Dylan Rickard said by taking Delgado’s class and organizing the forum at (SCENE) Metrospace, he has learned the significance of reaching out to others in the community.

“It’s an important step to know you have to start doing things outside of the classroom,” he said. “Engagement is a big part of learning, and sometimes that is forgotten.”

Eventually, Saper said he would like to see the two communities — the Lansing area and MSU — come together to form one.

“MSU should see Grand River as a bridge, but not as a moat or divider,” he said. “The more that we can do to bridge this roadway to allow MSU students to come north to leave the classroom, it’ll probably be more enlightening to students than many might think.”

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