Elon University public art project helps lower post-election stress

“Knowing that people were feeling strongly in all different directions around the election, we were talking about how do we engage our community, students, faculty and staff in something that is nonpartisan, that respects all members of our community and that focuses on our hopes for the future,” said Jodean Schmiederer, dean of student development and assistant professor at Elon University.

The university wanted to make sure whatever they planned helped the community with “not getting tied up or overly focused on our frustrations or partisanship or the difficulty that this year has been and all of the things we’re struggling with,” Schmiederer said.

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With Schmiederer’s background in fine arts, she was keen on an art project. As such, Hopes for the Future: Public Art Project took shape.

“I’ve always found relief or joy in that creative process and in community engagement in that creative process,” she said.

The project was inspired by artist Candy Chang, who has become famous for public art installations like Before I Die, which originated in New Orleans, Schmiederer said.

Haggard Avenue was shut down late Tuesday night between Williamson and North O’Kelley Avenues, and six double-sided chalkboard signs were set up in the street. The display was set up in the heart of campus near dining halls, dorms and outdoor seating spaces, so it was easily accessible for most of the campus community.

The signs were painted with fill-in-the-blank prompts that read, “My hope for the future is …” Other sides of the board were left blank for drawing or free writing.

“It [was] just out there for anyone to walk up and write and add their hopes for the future,” Schmiederer said.

Campus community members were encouraged also to write or draw on the street as well as the “My hope for the future is …” prompt was also spray painted on the ground.

“There’s some quotes, there’s some single lines,” Schmiederer said. “Students are being creative and using that as an opportunity to express their thoughts.”

Hopes written by Wednesday afternoon ranged from a healthy planet to unity, respect and equality, to love. Common hopes included an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, a healthy planet, kindness, protection of women’s reproductive rights, human connection and the protection of Black lives.

While most responses kept to these themes, some campus community members wrote things like “the end of facism,” “anarchy for all” and “a world with no rulers.”

As the collection of hopes grew, many lingered to read the responses and some, instead of writing their hopes, wrote agreement statements like “#RT” or “ditto” with arrows pointing to hopes they agreed with.

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Freshmen Lars Heidenreich and Molly Reid said they wrote several messages on the boards, offering hopes like equality, love, connection and learning to appreciate differences.

“I think everyone needs to be a little happier right now and learn to love each other, especially with the election and COVID,” Reid said.

“This is a good idea because it allows people to express how they feel, and a lot of people are being drawn to this,” Heidenreich added. “The message that I get is love for each other, and I think that’s a good message.

Junior Eleanor Gaudin also added her hopes, stating “My hope for the future is that we can try every day to show love and share this sense of belonging and this sense of ‘You are accepted and you are loved’ and not spread hate.”

“I just think it’s inspiring. It’s a chance for everyone to band together. Time right now is really stressful, really hard and it’s a chance for everyone to come together to share that love and that passion for building up a community instead of tearing it down,” she said.

As Gaudin wrote her message, freshmen Tori Kelleher and Arianna Tristani roamed around, reading the messages from their peers.

“The past couple of days everyone has kind of been a little divided, and I think even on campus there’s been some tension,” Kelleher said. “It’s nice to have this to bring everyone together.”

“It’s a nice gesture by the school because it’s in the middle of everything and everyone has an option to read what everyone has to say without being in a high-pressure situation, so I think a lot of people’s true colors and beliefs will come out in a peaceful way,” Tristani added.

While the project was taken out of the street Wednesday, Schmiederer said the boards will likely be back on display on the sidewalk over the weekend.

“As our community tries to move forward, anything we can do to find common ground and move from there I think will only help our campus and our local community and our broader community,” Schmiederer said.

To view photos of some of the boards, check out the gallery:

This article originally appeared on Times-News: Elon University public art project helps lower post-election stress