The Wayne State art department’s students showcase their skills and add excitement to the campus with their art walk during WSC’s homecoming week.

The WSC art department showcased various art projects around campus including sidewalk chalk art, a window cling scavenger hunt and several other projects. Francine Fox, associate professor of painting and drawing, said the department had 60-80 students participate in the event.

“It’s a lot about fun, we are trying to make somethings around campus that students are going to take notice of. I hope it brightens someone’s day,” Fox said. “It adds to the festive quality of homecoming and changes the way you experience the campus. We’re just trying to add to the celebration of homecoming.”

The art walk has become a staple of homecoming week at WSC. All the artwork was created by students taking classes in the art department, Fox said. Each teacher in the department created a unique way for their class to contribute to the event.

“Professor Lemmon, Dr. Albracht and Professor Rodriguez did sidewalk chalk, metal “W’s” and window drawings. I did a scavenger hunt this year,” Fox said. “I had my students make vinyl window clings, and I put them up all over campus. Students could go find them to get entered in a drawing to win some prizes. I thought it would be fun because a scavenger hunt feels more invitational for all of the students to get involved in a more literal way.”

The art walk has become a yearly tradition at WSC, and many students look forward to it each year.

“I love to see how the art department can take their talents and give them to the campus in a way that is visible to everyone each year,” Skyler Stefanski, student senator of Arts and Humanities, said. “It’s something that is just wonderful to see. It freshens your day to see such beautiful work around campus.”

The art walk does not come without a couple of technical difficulties. Rain seems to be a constant part of homecoming week, Fox said. However, the art department keeps a positive outlook on the projects.

“It rained a little bit, so the chalk art pieces weren’t up very long. But that’s okay, it is the nature of the event. It is supposed to be like a pop-up show,” Fox said. “It’s meant to be a quick event where students walk around, go to classes, and there’s something new, exciting and different in the landscape.”

The art walk has always been a great avenue for the arts to become more visible on campus.

“The more visible the arts are, and the more that our students know about it, the better and more beautiful our campus becomes,” Stefanski said. “The arts are a wonderful part of our campus, and the more we can see them, the closer our community grows.”