Big Changes Ahead for Art De­part­ment

MISHAWAKA- Stu­dents wish­ing to take ce­ram­ics in the fall 2020 se­mes­ter were in­formed the class was would not be of­fered due to the Ce­ram­ics Lab’s in­d­con­ducive­ness to so­cial dis­tanc­ing. Chad Jay, as­sis­tant pro­fes­sor of art, said not only was the build­ing too small, it was also in poor con­di­tion due to be­ing used as the ce­ram­ics lab for so many years.  

Bethel will of­fer ce­ram­ics to stu­dents next se­mes­ter, but the class will be held at the South Bend Mu­seum of Art. In­stead of the class be­ing held twice a week, it will be held once a week, on Fri­days from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. It will be taught by Kari Black, Bethel’s ad­junct pro­fes­sor of ce­ram­ics and a mem­ber of the board of di­rec­tors at the mu­seum. 

Over­com­ing the ob­sta­cle of where to hold the ce­ram­ics class for Bethel stu­dents was a chal­lenge. But, be­cause Chad Jay used to run the ed­u­ca­tion pro­gram at the mu­seum, he knew of this op­por­tu­nity.  

Al­though this will re­quire stu­dents to drive off-cam­pus for class, the fa­cil­i­ties are su­pe­rior. The ce­ram­ics wing at the South Bend art mu­seum will sup­ply stu­dents with more ma­te­ri­als and means to cre­ate.  

“This works twofold, since the South Bend Mu­seum of Art is a non­profit or­ga­ni­za­tion, it’s us sup­port­ing the arts of this com­mu­nity also,” Jay said. “By rent­ing space and hold­ing our classes there, it’s al­most our way of sup­port­ing the lo­cal art scene.” 

An­other ben­e­fit to ce­ram­ics be­ing held at the mu­seum is that the sched­ul­ing is also flex­i­ble when it comes to sign­ing up for class. If the meet­ing time that is listed on the course sched­ule con­flicts with a stu­den­t’s sched­ule due to ath­let­ics or other re­spon­si­bil­i­ties, ac­com­mo­da­tions may be avail­able.  

Un­der spe­cial cir­cum­stances, Bethel stu­dents may take a ce­ram­ics class through the mu­seum that is held at a dif­fer­ent time and day than the one listed on the course sched­ule for classes. Becky Branch, ad­min­is­tra­tive as­sis­tant for the art de­part­ment noted that this ac­com­mo­da­tion would be made for art ma­jors mostly.  

Stu­dents tak­ing ce­ram­ics will be able to come into the mu­seum dur­ing open stu­dio hours and work on their pieces out­side of class as well.  

The reg­u­lar course sched­ule is also chang­ing: Ce­ram­ics 1 will be held once a se­mes­ter, in­stead of al­ter­nat­ing se­mes­ters. This will al­low for more stu­dents to take this class. Jay also said that, de­pend­ing on the need, more classes could be made avail­able.  

This change to the ce­ram­ics class could lead to co­op­er­a­tive events with the South Bend Art Mu­seum in the fu­ture, where stu­dents will have op­por­tu­ni­ties to dis­play their art at some of the mu­se­um’s events.  

In ad­di­tion to re­lo­cat­ing the ce­ram­ics class, Jay said the en­tire Art De­part­ment is re­lo­cat­ing to the lower level of Ever­est-Rohr. The Art Build­ing will be­come a the­atre and dance stu­dio where stu­dents can re­hearse. This move will al­low more art classes to be held and for classes to be held all in the same place. Branch men­tioned the op­por­tu­ni­ties this could bring to stu­dents.  

“The Art De­part­ment is mov­ing [to Ever­est-Rohr], so all the Fine Arts will be housed in the same build­ing, the same area,” Branch said. “And it will in­crease op­por­tu­ni­ties for col­lab­o­ra­tion and uti­lize our space bet­ter.”