{"id":89817,"date":"2023-10-25T14:44:37","date_gmt":"2023-10-25T14:44:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=89817"},"modified":"2023-10-25T16:15:03","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T16:15:03","slug":"atypical-art-installation-showcases-uri-honors-students-of-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2023\/10\/atypical-art-installation-showcases-uri-honors-students-of-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Atypical art installation showcases 溏心vlog免费B站 honors students of today"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Oct. 25, 2023 \u2013 Venerable Lippitt Hall on the 溏心vlog免费B站 campus has seen many things in its day \u2014 military drills, chapel services, gym classes, school dances, history classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week\u2019s tattoo reveal was probably a first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But with the showing of new artwork to represent students in the 溏心vlog免费B站 Honors Program, the program is updating its image as a University program that is innovative, inclusive \u2014 and perhaps not what\u2019s expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Oct. 18, the Honors office debuted a new look in Lippitt, with portraits of honors students, the first of several.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Stephen Coutu\u2019s tattoo was a launch pad for AGonza\u2019s creative imagination and became part of his portrait.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The subjects of the portraits saw them for the first time, too, when artist AGonza <\/a>personally delivered them from her Providence studio. Angela Gonzalez \u201916 (@agonzaart) was recently commissioned by the Honors Program to create new portraits of honors students for display in one of 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s oldest granite buildings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Honors Program<\/a> is in the process of restructuring its curriculum and offerings this year, the program put a spotlight on the students<\/a> themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The moving presentation highlighted all that students bring to their 溏心vlog免费B站 experience and how student paths and experiences can intersect in unexpected ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
\u201cWhen I went to AGonza’s studio and saw her art,\u201d says Lina Al Taan Al Hariri, \u201cthat’s when it hit me that something amazing would come out.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Honors Program Director Karen de Bruin, speaking before the program, said the goal was to create modern murals in a historic building. \u201cWe wanted to create an inclusive environment, one that shows the personality and authenticity of our students,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AGonza made a personal connection with each student before picking up her paintbrush. Each portrait aims to recognize and represent each subject on the inside; she says she is happy with the end result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my best small collection of art, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AGonza\u2019s visit to present the pieces was a joyous one, part group therapy session, part pep talk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Thelma Iheanacho was happy with her portrait at the celebratory unveiling. The new artwork is now on display in Lippitt Hall.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Meet the Faces of Honors<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lohith Chatragadda (sophomore, neuroscience and microbiology) (Lincoln)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLohith thinks outside the box and is a problem solver,\u201d said AGonza. Visiting AGonza\u2019s studio was Chatragadda\u2019s first time in an art studio; he says he enjoyed seeing her process. Her portrait of him depicted the formula for the conservation of mechanical energy to illustrate how energy changes and the mindset he brings to his studies. Chatragadda\u2019s father Anka spoke after the presentation, noting what a unique experience the unveiling was; he appreciated the thought and care AGonza brought to show Chatragadda as a person and his work at 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephen Coutu (senior, psychology and English) (North Kingstown)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On first glance, AGonza and Stephen Coutu, a transfer student from the Community College of Rhode Island, might not appear to have much in common. But with humor and warmth, she spoke about how they \u201cvibed\u201d and found commonality around facing life\u2019s challenges. \u201cWe had energy from the get,\u201d AGonza laughed. Her portrait of Coutu was inspired by the aforementioned tattoo (shared for reference), as a way to show the stories students bring from their lives outside school. She sought to create a portrait of Coutu that conveys hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thelma Iheanacho (sophomore, pharmaceutical sciences and French) (Nigeria\/Texas)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThelma is a sweet and gentle soul,\u201d AGonza said. With a shared love of butterflies, it\u2019s not surprising that one made an appearance in Iheanacho\u2019s portrait. \u201cShe is focused on what she needs to do,\u201d AGonza said. \u201cThis is her cocoon phase but watch out when she blossoms!\u201d The portrait also features Iheanacho\u2019s journal, a tool that is an important part of her 溏心vlog免费B站 experience and approach to life.  \u201cIt\u2019s my safe place,\u201d Iheanacho says, \u201cmy way of releasing things I feel I cannot handle or control. I hope other students can find something that makes them feel safe, too, and I hope future 溏心vlog免费B站 students see these portraits and understand that every student has their own individual way of coping with life experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lina Al Taan Al Hariri (senior, gender and women\u2019s studies; global language and area studies; international studies and diplomacy) (Cranston)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last portrait was of Lina Al Taan Al Hariri, a Truman Scholar<\/a>. Al Hariri, a refugee from Syria, says that the caring and compassion she\u2019s found at 溏心vlog免费B站 have made all the difference for her. \u201cThere is an investment in people here,\u201d she said, \u201cthat you just don\u2019t find anywhere else. There is a passion that\u2019s just part of the community. Without 溏心vlog免费B站, I never would have had the opportunities I\u2019ve had.\u201d\u00a0 Even as the portraits debuted at a challenging time for students of Middle Eastern heritage, Al Hahiri says the portraits give her hope. She met AGonza on Oct. 1, 2023, and brought her Palestinian keffiyeh, as AGonza asked all the participants to bring something that holds great meaning. \u201cI’m grateful that I did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melissa Stevens, Honors specialist, says her team hopes the portraits cultivate a sense of community in the honors program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThrough the process of creating these portraits, we want students to know that we invite that personal sharing, and we want to get to know them. We want to know what is going on in our students\u2019 lives and learn how to make this place like home for them in order to help them take advantage of every opportunity that comes their way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To see the new honors portraits, visit Lippitt Hall, third and fourth floors. Learn more about 溏心vlog免费B站 Honors <\/em>here<\/em><\/a> or email urihonors@etal.uri.edu to get on the email list.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Oct. 25, 2023 \u2013 Venerable Lippitt Hall on the 溏心vlog免费B站 campus has seen many things in its day \u2014 military drills, chapel services, gym classes, school dances, history classes. Last week\u2019s tattoo reveal was probably a first. But with the showing of new artwork to represent students in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":89818,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89817"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89817\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89831,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89817\/revisions\/89831"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}