Fine Arts Student Association promotes FIU artwork

Cristina Gonzalez/Staff Writer

At first glance, the West 10 building at FIU appears to be just another ordinary building. Inside, however, lies the Fine Arts Student Association, an organization that promotes both curiosity and creativity.

FASA gives students, faculty and anybody associated with FIU not only an opportunity to learn about the art scene in South Florida, but a chance to gain confidence in their own artwork.  

“We have a lot of students who join that aren’t in the art department or in the art program, but they do art on their own,” said Paul Perdomo, club president. “They either want to meet other students who are actually in the art department or they just want to say, ‘oh wow, I did this drawing or painting and now it’s being shown in a gallery with other artists.’It makes them feel really good.”

Once the club was brought back to life after two years of inactivity, Perdomo hopes to make a little noise in the art community and let people know that FASA is there for them to join.

Every semester, the FASA hosts a series of art shows at the West 10 gallery. These shows serve as an outlet for students to showcase their artistic creations.

“Students sometimes produce work but they don’t show it. Sometimes, they have work just sitting in their studios. We decided to do these types of shows so that people can actually bring artwork that’s in their studios to us and be able to show it for a couple of weeks,” said Perdomo.

Every art show deals with a specific subject matter, typically something relevant to today’s world. Past themes have ranged from politics to cyberspace. While the shows are characterized by distinct themes, they’re completely open to the artist’s interpretation. This gives artists an opportunity to display their diverse perspectives on the theme, according to Perdomo.  

“We give students a chance to interpret; We bring a very open theme to the shows and we just let everybody’s mind run with it,” said Perdomo.

In spring 2018, the Fine Arts Student Association created a show called “The Bizarre.” The organization called for artwork exploring the “unusual, the unexpected and the whimsically bizarre.” Students could create any piece of any medium they interpreted as being bizarre.

One of the main events the FASA hosts is known as the Studio Crawl. At the end of every semester, FASA calls for art submissions to be part of the Studio Crawl. Perdomo described the event as a social gathering filled with food, music and art. For the organization, the event serves as a celebration of student’s work and a farewell to the semester.

The FASA also sponsors a series of shows throughout Miami, including shows in Miami Beach, Wynwood and in Little Haiti’s Laundromat Art Space. Perdomo said that being able to show their artwork outside of the University gives them the exposure they need.

“When we get our work outside of FIU, we have a better chance of people seeing our artwork and understanding that FIU has an art program that’s actually really good,” said Perdomo.

In collaboration with FIU painting professor Pip Brant, FASA works hard to come up with new themes for their art shows. For this semester, the organization plans to host a photography show and their annual Studio Crawl, which usually takes place on the last Friday before finals week, according to Perdomo. FASA is also hosting an embroidery art show that is currently on display at the W10 gallery.

To stay updated on upcoming exhibits, follow the Fine Art Student Association Instagram page, @fasa_fiu.

Featured photo courtesy of Paul Perdomo.