Students look at the artwork lining the walls, including photographs and colorful paintings by black student artists of different people in a variety of surroundings. 

The Pop-Up Gallery, organized by the officers of the Black Student Union (BSU) for their Spirit Week on Thursday, Feb. 13, featured a collection of different artworks.

“It (the gallery) inspires the younger generation, like the underclassmen, to make their art and show what they have,” BSU co-vice president and theatre senior Adon McKinnon said. “It gives them that inspiration to go out and into the actual world and put their artwork out and just express themselves.”

BSU co-president and visual senior Taniyah Aris’ work includes a painting depicting a girl being punched in the face. Aris said this work is a reflection of the growth she experienced over the past summer, using new styles to convey her message to the audience.

“It’s (my work) a symbolic metaphor of what it means to confront liberation in the sense that since I come from a marginalized community and also just being a black woman here in society, we are often just pushed at the bottom echelon of what others see us as,” Aris said. “But this is just being a punch in the face as a freedom, just representative of what it means to show the world that I am more than what you guys make me up to be.”

The showcase provided an opportunity for artists to display works representing their culture and honoring their heritage. BSU co-historian and visual senior Stephanie Taffe said she hopes the viewers can feel the happiness and calm she experienced while photographing her cousin outdoors.

“I took the photo while we were all outside, hanging out, and I just wanted to capture nature…I wanted to capture the moment,” Taffe said. “I thought it was just beautiful, and also speaks a lot to my roots as (a) Jamaican and how my parents surrounded us our whole lives with nature. I’ve grown to appreciate it more throughout the years.”

The gallery featured nine pieces on display curated by three artists: Taffe, Aris, and visual sophomore Breuna Hall.

“I love having a curated gallery like this because it’s very clear about what it (the gallery) is, and you can see all of the different ways that (the gallery is) interpreted,” Taffe said. “If it (the art) connects with people, if they’re exposed to it, or even if they see themselves in it, then it can inspire them.