U of A students, faculty and staff collaborated with the Division of Student Affairs by contributing their portraits to become a part of French artist JR’s Inside Out Project. Over 100 portraits were submitted and installed on Old Main plaza.
Nadia Issa, teaching assistant professor of graphic design in the U of A School of Art, oversaw a group of graduate students who were responsible for carrying out the installation and documenting the process. These students also added AI generated facial expressions to each photo poster. The installation has since been removed but you can view photos on the Inside Out project website.
Inside Out also be created another installation at the FORMAT Festival, held Sept. 22-24 at The Momentary in Bentonville. The FORMAT festival is focused on music, art and technology, and its organizers partnered with the U of A in several ways this year.
The photos for the Inside Out Project installation at Old Main were taken by Shane White, graduate assistant in the Division of Student Affairs communication department. White also captured drone footage of the project as it was being installed in front of Old Main’s East entrance.
“This was such a great project to be part of,” White said. “We set up a photo backdrop during an event put on by New Student & Family Programs outside the Arkansas Union and captured about 75 photos in a couple hours for the exhibit. Then we captured drone footage of the installation, and a nice shot of the finished project.”
Other U of A collaborations with FORMAT included marketing and advertising work as well as musical performances.
During spring 2023, Sisi Hu, assistant professor of advertising in the U of A’s School of Journalism and Strategic Media, incorporated FORMAT into her Campaigns course. Students were charged with creating a complete advertising, public relations and integrated marketing campaign for the festival. At the end of the semester, students presented their campaigns to the FORMAT leadership team.
Jake Hertzog, assistant professor in the School of Art, and percussion students Ben Wheeler and Jaxon Krueger performed with the artist Lesly Reynaga. Additionally, indie-pop band The Misdemeanors, made up of three U of A students along with two students from Belmont University performed at the festival.
A version of this story ran in Arkansas News.
Photo by Shane White