Diversifying the face of York

Bernice Afriyie | Arts Editor

Featured image: York’s hotel-like art pieces seem to go unnoticed, unless they manage to enrage. | Fatema Ali 

Walking alone through York Lanes, the mall is full of faces from many backgrounds. York’s Keele campus is known for, among other things, its diverse student population. Situated in one of the most diverse cities in the world, and home to a large population of international students, the school’s artwork should reflect its population.

The art installations and fixtures scattered around York, for the most part, lack the same culture and range of experiences that is present in its student population. Walking through Scott Library and looking outside the windows on the first floor, there’s an installation made out of large, coloured half circles arranged in decreasing size. The fixture is aesthetically pleasing with the equally spaced out half rings, but it does nothing to stir the mind.

The various paintings and photos that hang on the walls of Vari Hall, McLaughlin College and other buildings are part of the same problem. They’re unprovocative depictions of trees, abstract objects or swirling colours. They don’t provoke, rather becoming parts of decor or wall accents, which resemble the kind of art one would find in a quaint hotel lobby: pretty and inoffensive.

York’s artwork imitates that hotel feel. There are multitudes of people going through campus but people aren’t invested in staying. It may seem insignificant, but it’s part of the commuter school atmosphere that many York students associate with the school. Maybe if the art around York reflected the diverse students and workers in the community, there would be more of a tie to the school.

Having installations that aren’t racially motivated plays it safe. On the other hand, having pieces that play on conflicts between groups isn’t the way to go either. A university should take every opportunity available to educate and welcome all the students that make up the school, unifying all students by highlighting and accepting differences in a respectful manner. The conversations that develop from such works should add to discourse, not leave students unengaged or enraged.