Art is a critical part of any college campus. The prevalence of cultural subjects such as poetry, music, and visual arts can not only elevate an institution’s image but also add to their students’ quality of life. This is what makes the presence of art at CT State Manchester incredibly important to acknowledge.
When CT State Manchester was still known as Manchester Community College, a large part of its impression on the public was its artistic events. This could be seen by the establishment of MCC on Main in 2012, which was intended to bring the cultural efforts of the MCC students and faculty to the public in a building in the center of Manchester’s downtown corridor. One of the reoccurring events at MCC on Main was the spoken word and music series Mishi-maya-gat. MCC on Main has since transformed into WORK_SPACE, a co-working and meeting space for businesses, according to its website, that no longer holds distinct ties to CT State Manchester. The change meant Mishi-maya-gat moved back to campus, but then the Covid pandemic ended it as well.
Stephen Campiglio, a member of the CT State Manchester Workforce Development area in the Continuing Education department, and a poet himself, was the coordinator of Mishi-maya-gat.
“We used to have noncredit classes and poetry workshops, fiction workshops, music instruction, and art instruction but a lot of that has unfortunately gone away,” he said. “Since CT State and the whole transition…that office has downsized and practically what we have now for a staff is about half of what we used to have.”
But Campiglio and Debbie Herman, the director of the CT State Manchester library, wanted to provide a place for the arts to flourish again on campus. “Fireside Presents,” a new series, will hold its first event titled Manchester Muse on Thursday, April 18, from 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. in the Fireside Commons in the rear of the library. It will feature performances by CT State Manchester music students of Dr. Carolina Flores and readings from the poetry students of Professor Jeanine DeRusha. Campiglio and his trio Apennine Spine will also perform. The event is free and open to the public and refreshments will be served.
Manchester Muse comes just after a masterclass by poet Edgar Kunz held earlier this month and just before the annual Spring Arts Festival, which will hold its opening reception Thursday, May 9, from 6-8 p.m. in and near the Hans Weiss Newspace Gallery on the first floor of the Arts, Sciences and Technology building. This event, which features artwork and music produced by students during the spring semester, is also free and open to the public.
These events are promising developments for the presence of the arts on campus as well as in the community, said Campiglio, and he hopes others will take action in organizing other artistic events.
