Students, faculty, and alumni gathered late Thursday Oct. 16 to celebrate the second annual University of Rochester Creative Expo (URC), a campus-wide showcase for current and aspiring creators to see the campus arts organizations and opportunities.
Spearheaded by senior Joshua Jung, president of Rochester Producers and Musicians, the night featured a variety of clubs including the XR Association, UR Baja SAE, WRUR, and many student-led bands including NJR and Autopilot. The event aimed to reveal the variety of opportunities that exist in creative fields at the University while also providing a space for students to connect and network with each other.
“I was very pleased to see a lot of people talking,” Jung told the Campus Times. “People lingered on afterwards to exchange contact information and ask questions, and I think that will prove fruitful going forward because people know who is doing what on campus.”
While students and organizations filled the room with energy, the evening also included a reflective presentation from keynote speaker Sarah Higley, filmmaker and English professor at the University. She talked about creativity as a human necessity, and the opportunities that come with forming connections with other creatives. Through clips and stories, she asserted that creativity can sprout from even the most unexpected places and relationships.
The event drew support from several academic departments, alongside the Greene Center for Career Education which provided refreshments and held a giveaway of student-created digital business cards. The end result proved to be a unified presentation of the various ways in which students are able to empower and bolster their creative interests, whatever they may be.
Jung attributed much of the success of the event to his team, who have been planning and working continuously from early August until the day of the event. He acknowledged the talent and passion that came from student participants and Greene Center staff.
“Eugene [Mont] and Mindy [Peet] have continually been a helping hand, what we quote as a long leash … someone to facilitate and provide aid but not command or direct,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mont, a career advisor at the Greene Center, attributed the event’s success to the students. “I give all the credit to the students,” Mont said. He continued, “this was a full student-run operation.”
The student response to the event has been majorly positive, with many attendees expressing interest and gratitude for the various clubs and resources being brought to light.
One attendee, sophomore Emerson Davis, noted that “it’s very nice to get all these people together in order to get clubs to easily collaborate, … and the production value is also incredible for a bunch of students doing this.”
“Because so many of us on the committee are seniors, having an opportunity to lead these types of events is imminent for underclassmen,” Jung explained. The hope among organizers is that students will continue the tradition of encouraging creativity and collaboration through the UR Creative Expo.
While there are no current plans regarding a third Creative Expo next year, Jung mentioned that many procedural improvements were made after the previous year’s expo, so “making even better URCs is something to look forward to.”
