The Art Boost on Campus: How Good Art can fuel school pride
Inspire student engagement and pride with art on campus
How visually stimulating was your college campus on the inside? Many universities often boast beautiful lawns with academic buildings exuding prestige and architectural innovation, but does the same apply to their interiors? With drop ceilings, fluorescent lights, linoleum floors, and sprawling empty walls, it’s easy to understand how such an environment can feel tiresome Student mental health is down these days; spending a majority of their time in stark hallways and classrooms doesn’t help.
The Art Supply Co. knows how important a stimulating environment is to stay motivated and inspired. In our newsletter earlier this year about art at work, we shared how office spaces containing art have a 32% boost in motivation levels. The same logic applies to student life and learning. In fact, up to 80% of prospective students say the visual appeal of a campus matters in their enrollment decision.
Photo credit: Sean Carroll
Having art on campus can lead to more engagement, making for an effective learning environment that is both pleasing to the eye and soothing to the nervous system. Campuses enriched with art tend to be more stimulating and attractive, which increases student motivation and the extent they want to hang out, study, and be present. Well-designed spaces with visual interest can also help to stir up curiosity, provide visual cues, and make learning spaces more dynamic. Plus, collecting and displaying art by alumni is a great way to show school pride.
Art can reduce stress, support psychological healing, and improve emotional expression. When students are surrounded by art, or engage with art, it offers mental rest and helps manage anxiety.
Project spotlight: Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC)
Photo credit: Sean Carroll
For this project, we worked closely with our client to create a collection featuring artists with connections to the school. The finished collection was titled “Celebrating Community in Art: The CCAC Collection at the Center for Education, Innovation & Training” and includes 19 artists and collectives, 11 of which hold connections to CCAC.
The majority of artists are Pittsburgh-based, from a range of demographics, artistic media, and career levels. The collection includes five new works commissioned just for the CEIT building, three of which were conceived from workshops by Sue Abramson, Lori Hepner, and Curtis Reaves with CCAC staff and students. We also worked with local design firm Point Line Projects, who created a catalog highlighting the artworks and a simple brochure to help visitors to the space learn more about the works
Learn more about this project at the button below.