{"id":53754,"date":"2026-03-31T09:52:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T13:52:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/?p=53754"},"modified":"2026-03-31T14:07:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T18:07:35","slug":"students-are-getting-arts-and-crafty-at-cuag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/2026\/students-are-getting-arts-and-crafty-at-cuag\/","title":{"rendered":"Students are Getting Arts and Crafty at CUAG"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Students are Getting Arts and Crafty at CUAG\n <\/h1>\n \n \n <\/header>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n
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\"Groups<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When you consider the life cycle of a work of art, you might think of an art gallery as the last stop in its journey: the place where a finished painting or sculpture is displayed for all to quietly view and appreciate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Carleton University Art Gallery (CUAG)<\/a> is flipping the script on this narrative, inviting Carleton students into the gallery space to make their own art from scratch and meet their fellow creative Ravens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hosted by CUAG\u2019s student ambassadors, Art+Friends is a new monthly initiative held throughout the semester where students can drop by the gallery on Sunday evenings to hang out and get crafty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great way to meet new people, take a break from coursework, and engage with something creative,\u201d says Ashleigh Picard, a fourth-year Architectural Studies student and CUAG Ambassador. \u201cIt really transforms the gallery into a more interactive and community-focused environment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graduate student and fellow CUAG ambassador Saivani Sanassy describes the first Art+Friends as \u201ca warm day where we came together to create greeting cards and participate in activities like scavenger hunts, while enjoying hot chocolate and snacks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Students can colour, crochet, collage, and more at the Carleton University Art Gallery’s monthly Art+Friends meet-up.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince I started working at the gallery as an ambassador in September, I have never seen as many people in the space as I do at Art+Friends,\u201d shares Saivani.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gallery provides participants with materials for printmaking, painting, sculpting, and drawing, as well as snacks and drinks. Over time, a knitting and crocheting circle developed, inspiring Saivani to launch a spin-off event called Fibre+Friends \u2013 a free, weekly lunchtime drop-in at the gallery for fibre-focused crafters of all skill levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese events remind me why it’s so important to have third spaces,\u201d says Saivani, referring to sociologist Ray Oldenburg\u2019s popular theory that we need to have spaces to spend time in beyond just our homes and workplaces, spaces where we can freely gather to meet and connect with other people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEspecially ones that cultivate community building and promote diverse education through exhibitions showcasing racialized artists, queer artists, Indigenous artists, disabled artists, and other underrepresented communities in the arts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A casual arts and crafts session (snacks included!) in the middle of the art gallery.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Art+Friends is part of an overall effort led by CUAG\u2019s Cara Tierney, Academic and Public Programs Specialist, and Danielle Printup, Indigenous Cultural Engagement Coordinator, to make the gallery \u2013 located on the ground floor of St. Patrick\u2019s Building in the heart of Carleton\u2019s residence community \u2013 even more accessible to students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This includes setting up an on-site study space equipped with art supplies, hanging a student-led art show in the gallery\u2019s main vitrine, hosting the university\u2019s visual arts club\u2019s meetings, holding student art contests, and organizing a weekly in-gallery visit from a Carleton therapy dog<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe goal is to give students a sense of ownership of the gallery, so that they show up and feel reflected in the space,\u201d explains Cara. \u201cThere\u2019s really been a student takeover of the gallery this past year, in a way that I hope encourages other students to come by.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final Art+Friends meet-up<\/a> for the winter term is scheduled for Sunday, April 5 from 6 to 9 p.m. at CUAG.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d definitely encourage students to come by, even if they don\u2019t usually see themselves as \u2018art people,\u2019\u201d says Ashleigh. \u201cSince it\u2019s the last event of the semester, it\u2019s a perfect opportunity to unwind and experience the gallery in a more social and interactive way before exams.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You might have spotted some of these eye-catching posters advertising Art+Friends around campus.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you consider the life cycle of a work of art, you might think of an art gallery as the last stop in its journey: the place where a finished painting or sculpture is displayed for all to quietly view and appreciate. The Carleton University Art Gallery (CUAG) is flipping the script on this narrative, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":511,"featured_media":53755,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[133],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-carleton-university-art-gallery"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/511"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53754"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53767,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53754\/revisions\/53767"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}