The Mosaic of Life Art Show took place April 4 as a way to express diversity through the arts. The exhibition is in its second year and is run by the Cohen Health & Counseling Center.

The art showcased in the Student Union throughout the afternoon was as diverse in itself as the themes it portrayed, with pieces that differed in media, color and artist. The show included written pieces, video of dancing/acting, paintings, drawings, collages and much more.

The Mosaic of Life show also had a wide variety of art and culture for patrons to enjoy during their time there, such as the art of Henna and homemade food from around the world.

The people in charge of this creative undertaking were Heather Denning, professor of Art Therapy; Jessica Macrino, a psychologist at the Cohen Health Center; and Tyler Brentley, Multicultural and Inclusion coordinator.

“Mosaic of Life is a showcase of our school celebrating the themes of diversity are all over campus. It was open to all students whether or not they were an artist to give them an outlet to express themselves in these themes,” Denning said.

Macrino, who has worked on the show for two years now, shared this sentiment.
“This year was a huge difference in the amount of people who participated. Last year, we had four rectangular tables, and this year we have more than 30 pieces. We appreciate all the artwork we get submitted and are happy and excited about all the works,” Macrino said.

Demi Eadie, a junior Art Therapy major, said, “Being part of any art show is exciting, but I like this one because it’s collaborative and you get to work with other people or you can have an individual piece. It all comes together and it’s a lot like art therapy where it is more about the process than what is produced. It was fun to be part of a club collaborative piece because we got to work on the piece both inside and outside the studio.”

Eadie’s favorite part of the show was seeing everyone’s pieces, especially the ones that were not made by art majors but still brought a new flair to the art world.

She stressed that when working through some struggles in life, one option is turning to art.

The diversity in the pieces alone gives the exhibition another level of personality that does not show through in other art show with rigid requirements or structure. This is an art show for the people to get their voices heard and to show that diversity can mean many different things.

Macrino said the overall message of the show was to demonstrate the range of identities we have on campus.

“Students can see that there is so much more diversity than what you might think, and we just thought that having the opportunity to be artistic and creative is a good way to showcase that.”