The Department of Art and Design announces the establishment of its Student Trip Fund, which will subsidize overnight, group trips for Mississippi University for Women art majors.
An initial $5,000 for the fund was raised by the MUW chapter of Kappa Pi International Honorary Art Fraternity through proceeds from its annual Art in Autumn Auction. The department plans to grow the fund through private donations and future fundraisers.
Art and Design faculty have discussed strategies to provide art majors access to museums once they discovered that several art majors were completing their programs without ever seeing major works of art firsthand. The department has organized several day trips to visit regional museums with the ultimate goal of getting students to major metropolitan areas where there is a concentration of museums and galleries.
Dr. Beverly Joyce, faculty sponsor for Kappa Pi, recalls that her class trip to New York as an undergraduate was “life changing” even though she attended college in Memphis. “Going to major metropolitan areas to see art firsthand is critical for aspiring artists yet financially difficult for many of our students,” she said.
Department chair Shawn Dickey expressed his gratitude to the members of Kappa Pi, adding that the department is “very humbled” by the hard work and generosity shown by Kappa Pi to start the fund. “These funds provide a seed for future student trips…allowing students to be influenced, challenged and enriched by the shared experience of travel and viewing works of art” he said.
Nisa Moody, Kappa Pi president, said, “As an exiting senior, it feels great to leave something behind for future students. It’s amazing to be a part of an organization that truly cares about the education of its students.”
Short-term plans include a weekend trip to New Orleans in the spring semester with a further goal of traveling to New York City in 2014.
Anyone wishing to donate to the Department of Art and Design Student Trip Fund may contact the MUW Foundation for further information.
