Watkins College of Art Hosts "Stand Up and Vote!" Exhibit

Sixty years of political posters on display, all saying the same thing: vote.

The Watkins College of Art set out to get students to the polls as it hosted an event Thursday for an exhibit and student design competition centered around political artwork.  

Posters decorated the walls of the Leu Center for the Visual Arts’ lobby as a part of the “Stand Up and Vote!” exhibit.

In the back hallway, student artwork inspired by the exhibit filled the Meaders Gallery.  

The “Stand Up and Vote!” exhibit is made up of political posters from former Nashville politician Ronnie Steine’s collection. He spoke to students at the event as well as at a panel on Monday about the significance of participating in elections.  

“Voting is less of a partisan thing — it’s not you should vote for this person, you should vote for that person. This whole thing is about — you should just vote,” said Ben Bradley, a Belmont junior. 

Steine stressed the importance of turning out for local elections and not getting discouraged, even in largely one-party states like Tennessee.  

“They need to participate so that everybody knows they exist and that there’s a minority of people who disagree with you that need to be considered,” said Steine. 

To help students find voting resources, the library staffed a table at the event where students could learn more about BruinVote.  

The Student Government Association worked with Motivote to create a resource accessible through MyBelmont where students can check their registration status and find dates for upcoming elections. 

Capping off the event, the results of the student design competition were announced.  

Sophomore Anna Ford won with her stop sign inspired call to action. 

A student views Ford’s submission to the competition. “I wanted to be nonpartisan, and I wanted it to be direct,” said Ford.

Students wait in the lobby of the Leu Center for the Visual Arts ahead of Thursday’s event. “Seeing this many people participate is probably my favorite thing about it,” said sophomore Ben Seegmiller.

Steine directs the audience’s attention to one of the posters during his talk.

At the library’s table, Emma Keegan helps a student access BruinVote.

Keeping things light, Celene Aubry, Director of Hatch Show Print, gives bunny ears to her predecessor, Jim Sherraden, as they present the honorable mentions for the competition.

–

This Photo Story was done by Luke Ayers