Art students display “Doors to the World” exhibit at Parent and Family Weekend

Parent and Family Weekend event-goers view a work of art featured in the “Doors to the World” exhibit on Nov. 11.  

Riverside, Calif. (Nov. 13, 2017) — A unique art exhibit greeted event-goers attending the Block Party on Nov. 11 at the inaugural Parent and Family Weekend at California Baptist University.

Janet Crate, special events and volunteer coordinator for University Advancement at CBU, said the “Doors to the World” exhibit was designed to make people think of the world of possibility.

“You never know what is on the other side of the door,” Crate said.

Crate pitched the idea of the exhibit to Kristi Lippire, associate professor of visual arts at CBU, who accepted the challenge and worked with her students to bring the exhibit to life. Lippire assigned students from two courses, Drawing II and Advanced Art, to form teams and then work to infuse their artistic interpretations onto actual doors that served as their assigned canvasses. In total, students created eight “doors” that explored the concepts of nature, outer space, magical realms and other worlds of possibilities.

Lippire said she stressed the importance of designing art with the audience in mind.    

“The installation was about doing something larger, doing something interactive, thinking about the public and what they would want to see and do and be interested in engaging with,” Lippire said.

Andrea Baugh, a visual arts and psychology senior, and her teammates chose the concept of “old and new.” On one side of the door the team attached old, repurposed wood; on the other side the door was painted with colorful flowers and vines.

“There’s this beaten-down, tattered side of you but then from that comes growth and new experiences,” Baugh said. “[This project taught me] to not be afraid and to try different materials—be bold in the materials and to add another layer and another depth to it and try something that we hadn’t worked with before.”

Another team that included Brooke Villegas, a visual art senior, explored the concept of traveling and missionary work. Their door included decorations such as a map, postcards and a traveling bag. The team wanted to make it something very personal to CBU students, Villegas said, because students graduating from CBU are ready to go out and use their talents and resources to impact the world.