INSPIRATION NIGHT 2021: FACES FROM AFAR

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted the ways in which we express ourselves and perceive others. Masks now cover the majority of our facial expressions, we are kept from others at a six-foot boundary, and we spend most of the day speaking to screens, mimicking the socialization of a pre-COVID-19 world. With so many safety guidelines, how can we express ourselves, and how do we see others?

Call for Submissions

The SAB invites students to submit a self-portrait or portrait in any medium that responds to living in a COVID-19 world. Entries can come in the form of drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, music, written works, or dance. We welcome multiple entries, as well as work not created specifically for this project. During the submission window, on April 15 at 8 p.m. (EDT), Jeff Whetstone, professor of visual arts at the Lewis Center for the Arts, will lead an interactive workshop, guiding students through self-portraiture in a virtual setting. Students are encouraged to submit those self-portraits to our collaborative project.

All submissions are due on April 18, and they will be assembled into a digital exhibition online and on social media. Open to Princeton University students only.

Zoom Self-Portraiture Workshop

Thursday, April 15, 2021 @ 8 p.m.

Join the SAB for an interactive workshop that will guide students through self-portraiture in a virtual setting. Katherine Bussard, the Museum’s Peter C. Bunnell Curator of Photography, will discuss self-portrait photographs from the Art Museum’s collections to inspire the exercise. Jeff Whetstone, professor of visual arts at the Lewis Center for the Arts, will share lighting tips and tricks to enhance your self-portrait. Participants are encouraged to bring a “light source toolbox,” including flashlights, phones, computer screens, desk lamps, candles, mirrors, colored plastic, aluminum foil—anything that can emit, reflect, or alter the color of light. We will use breakout rooms for students to share feedback about their compositions. Students are encouraged to submit their self-portraits to our collaborative project by Sunday, April 18.

Open only to Princeton University students. Students must register with their Princeton University email address. 

Late Thursdays are made possible by the generous support of Heather and Paul G. Haaga Jr., Class of 1970.