USF and SUSE Host Inaugural Virtual Art Symposium

Joliet, Ill. – The University of St. Francis (USF) and Sichuan University of Science & Engineering (SUSE) in Zigong, China, hosted their inaugural SUSE-USF Virtual Art, Design & Photography Symposium this month.

The three-session event (April 11, April 18, and April 25, 2023) featured materials by fourteen USF and sixteen SUSE students and were in response to research completed on the Sichuan region and Chicagoland. The live and interactive event allowed student presenters from each institution to discuss art, design, and new media practices in an open forum format with roughly 300 students in attendance at the primary auditorium at SUSE in Zigong, China.

In addition to the symposium, USF students were introduced to traditional and new art practices and culturally significant materials of China. This included Sichuan tie-dying, the Zigong Dinosaur Museum, and the Chinese Lantern Festival in a Topics in Art & Design class during the Spring 2023 semester.

USF student presenters: Stephanie Behland, Karli Ceci, Jaclyn Duske, Ayla Gilmer, Liliana Gomez, Samantha Gonzalez, David Kalter, Jareset Lagunas, Nick Munafo, Mazi Niezgoda, E. Porter, Alvaro Robles, Isaac Rodriguez, and Alana Wendel.

SUSE instructor Zhang Qi (Amber) and Michael “Chester” Alamo-Costello, MFA, professor of art and design at USF, served as symposium facilitators.

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The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 4,000 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 53,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu.

University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose.

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