CUA Project Arts
Image courtesy of nest.cua.edu
By Noelia Veras
CUA Project Arts, a new club on campus, had its first listening party and meeting on Tuesday, February 19 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The album being commemorated in this meeting was The Stranger, Billy Joel’s breakthrough project.
The overall turnout was small, which is to be expected for a new club. Many of the attendees knew each other prior to the meeting, leading to a relaxed atmosphere. People were free to go in and out to get food from the on-campus Student Restaurant or Starbucks, and comfortably listen and discuss the songs being played. While all the songs were played, the lyrics and lyrical interpretations were displayed on a projector as well.
The organization was mainly created because of the lack of art clubs on campus that interpret art as a multifaceted whole. There have been extremely specialized clubs, such as Redline A Cappella and Take Note, but none which encompass all art forms.
“I am really into the arts and as a computer science major I knew in my classes I wouldn’t necessarily have access to the arts. So as a freshman I set out to find a club that would allow me access to all the arts in a broad way, one that would be good with Mozart to Macklemore and movies to abstract art,” said Matthew Bechtel, club president.
The organization itself began in February, but it has been expanding rapidly. In less than one month, CUA Project Arts has already accumulated 60 members. The organization already has major events planned. This Sunday the student organization is hosting the Oscars Viewing Party. CUA Project Arts’ biggest event is set to be Rocking’ Little Rome on April 13. The main objective of this event is to have a concert focused on the artist and music.
“This will be a large outdoor concert focused on showcasing bands and musicians from D.C., CUA and elsewhere,” said Bechtel.
CUA Project Arts completely intends on growing quickly and fully expanding across campus. The reason the club was created to broadly encompass all art forms is because its creators wanted to include all students with various interests in the arts. The name CUA Project Arts stems from the idea that this whole club is a project of inclusivity and a way to effectively bring the arts to the students of Catholic University.
The mission of CUA Project Arts is, “Exposing students to new ideas through the use of various artistic mediums and styles. To promote
This organization aims to forge a community of artists. CUA Project Arts believes that everyone, regardless of major, has their own potential to become an artist in some way.
