{"id":435301,"date":"2026-09-14T05:14:23","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T05:14:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/435301\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T05:14:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T05:14:23","slug":"give-students-a-wall-the-daily-texan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/435301\/","title":{"rendered":"Give students a wall \u2013 The Daily Texan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Give<\/a> <\/p>\n

The University of Texas is obsessed with excellence, even in their students\u2019 artistic hobbies. Those who indulge casually remain in the confines of dorm rooms and empty classrooms, pursuing their passions out of sight. In terms of expression, our campus remains empty, with only flyers covering our sterile walls. Students need a place to be inspired by others\u2019 work, and a place to display art born from that inspiration.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We have exhibits, we have a museum, but where is the space for the hobbies we aren\u2019t great at? Where\u2019s the representation for students who create just to create? What makes art worth seeing? What makes it worth being displayed somewhere? Students deserve sanctioned spaces to express themselves without the fear that they won\u2019t measure up. Having a place to display the art they make would inevitably foster a sense of community between these students, and would give them experience in sharing their passions \u2014 no matter how we define objectively good art, and whether it meets that criteria.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s through those moments, through expression and learning about yourself, that you can have something where it\u2019s not perfect \u2026 there\u2019s no expectation,\u201d said Sarah Bane, assistant curator of prints and drawings at the Blanton Museum of Art. \u201cYou can make art one way and make art another way, and it\u2019s both of those ways that might be a perfect masterpiece.\u201d<\/p>\n

Public art<\/a>, like art walls or murals, is known to foster participation, community and identity. Additionally, there are health benefits<\/a> for students who participate. Research shows that engaging with art in any capacity reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety and can create social change<\/a> by providing spaces for representation and activism. Now, imagine this art is created by students who are simply inspired. There is no pressure to perform or live up to UT\u2019s standard of greatness. Only an incentive to shamelessly create.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s this idea that art \u2026 has to be something, like it has to be some form of currency,\u201d design junior Aidan Erik Montes said. \u201cIt really doesn\u2019t have to be anything. I think it\u2019s just a thing you do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Junior Daria Tanase is studying sustainability studies but is also an artist of multiple mediums. She\u2019s held multiple local student art exhibitions at Calamity<\/a>, as well as gallery nights where students come and put their art up for display.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a space that encourages anyone to submit \u2026 really supports these artists who are just now getting their work out there, or maybe were way too shy to display their stuff publicly,\u201d Tanase said. \u201cIn my opinion, art isn\u2019t that serious, and you deserve to share the stuff you love with people around you.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the school\u2019s potential concerns about what is appropriate to display make sense, UT can still provide artistic space without censorship. Give students a wall.<\/p>\n

There is no doubt that UT students are exceptional. They are nothing short of talented and ambitious, but our campus lacks spaces for those of us who make art inconsistently and quietly. Those of us who are quickly inspired. We should not have to be professionals to be able to share what we create, and we should not have to wait until our art is impressive enough to deserve a place on the wall.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Henry is an English and philosophy sophomore from San Angelo, Texas.<\/p>\n