A team of ASU students is creating a new arts publication designed to elevate and inspire young artists of color around the University community.
Arcadia Zine's first issue will hit magazine racks at the end of the semester, said the zine's creators, Gayle Tomimbang and Omar Mota. The pair will use their platform as Creative Fellows within the ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts to bring the publication to life, targeting art students in the Arcadia Residential Community and the ASU arts and design community as a whole.
Tomimbang, a film sophomore, said the zine will feature student artists of color who promote a message of intersection between art and identity.
The Creative Fellows are undergraduate Herberger students who live in the Arcadia Residential Community and serve as mentors and advocates for students in the ASU art and design community, according to the Arcadia Residential Community information page.
Tomimbang said art can sometimes be seen as a luxury instead of a necessity, and she hopes the zine encourages art students to follow their passions rather than settle for a career that may be considered more practical.
“I want them to come forward with their messages and come forward with their perspectives on life because I feel like that’s really important to live your life to its fullest potential,” Tomimbang said.
She hopes the zine will provide incoming students with a source of comfort and opportunity through visual representation and expose readers to diverse artists.
“A lot of students can get discouraged not seeing themselves in the places they want to be, so I definitely want to have this resource for them to be inspired by,” Tomimbang said.
The zine, which Tomimbang hopes to publish semesterly, will include as many artists as possible in order to represent the Herberger community, she said. She said she was inspired by Normal Noise and Lux, two publications housed within Barrett, the Honors College, but wanted to expand her reach beyond just honors students.
Mota, a senior graphic design major and Tomimbang's partner on the project, said the zine will showcase student-submitted artwork and creative endeavors in disciplines such as fashion, animation and video.
“We want them to express their artwork in any way, shape or form that they want to express it, because this is ultimately for them,” Mota said.
He said the zine will demonstrate how the artists express a broad spectrum of identities and personalities through their work.
“For a lot of artists, their pieces are part of them, and so if their pieces aren't being shown, their personalities and their inner beings aren't being shown as well,” Mota said.
Danielle Foushee, an assistant professor of design at ASU, whose research touches on intersections between design and culture, and founder and director of the Phoenix Mural Project, said the Arcadia Zine will provide a opportunity for students to collaborate with their peers in the arts.
“As their project continues, I would love to see (Tomimbang and Mota) be able to somehow work it into Herberger (Institute) Day and have students actually participate in the making of the zine,” Foushee said.
She said it is important to not only feature and showcase the work of artists of color, but also to “acknowledge, celebrate and integrate” the voices of student artists, so they can be empowered.
“When we take action to bring people into the fold and to let go of some of our own beliefs to make room for theirs, that is what democracy in America is all about,” Foushee said.
Reach the reporter at chofmann@asu.edu and follow @chofmann528 on Twitter.
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