As students get their caffeine fix from Front Room Coffee House, they may notice something new in the cafe. At the start of the semester, Thread Magazine’s team worked with Culinary Services to put a new gallery in Front Room.
“We hadn't seen the exhibit change since I've been here since 2020,” said Thread’s Creative Director Ella Calhoun. “So it's been the same. And so we were like, might as well might as well try and we got in.”
Thread produces two publications a semester, each about 180 pages. Both publications are saturated with student’s photos. Some are landscapes or products, but many are of models. “Middle of the Book” pages are all photos that match the theme of the issue, so the photo team works with models and the fashion team to make the inspiration come to life.
Corrin Switzer, photo editor for Thread, reached out to Culinary Services to see if they would be willing to display their art in Front Room, then Calhoun, Switzer and Meg Rees, photo chief, worked together to compile a list of photos to install. The photos were chosen from previous issues over the last two semesters and they wanted to focus on choosing photos with their models.
“We wanted to feature things that our fashion team had specifically worked on as well so that we could feature their talents along with our own,” Switzer said.
Students may be rushing to grab a quick cup of joe between classes and may not take a second to look at the installation, but those who do notice will see pops of color around the room and the publication’s hard work that goes into an issue.
“I like the different representation,” said Front Room location coordinator Sydney Sears. “I like that every so often someone else's work gets to be shown here. It always feels good to put your work on display. And the people that really appreciate it do notice.”
The team put together the whole gallery in a week, but found that between choosing photos to represent and printing them, the team found it taxing to finish the gallery.
“It was really stressful to put it together because I feel like we were working on a really short timeframe,” Calhoun said. “I think me, Meg and Corrin were talking and as soon as we were hanging them up around the coffee shop, we were like, ‘Oh, this is really cool.’ It's so cool to see, not only my art but the art that our whole organization has created is really cool.”
It is not only exciting for the photographer’s whose art is displayed. It is also inspiring for the models and the fashion department to see their work.
“So everyone on Thread who's been involved – models, fashion, photographers – they've all reached out,” Calhoun said. “This is really exciting for them because for a lot of them this is like their first time showcasing something in such a big public area.”
It is uncertain exactly how long the gallery will stay at Front Room, but until then make sure to take a moment while waiting for coffee to take it all in.
“I’m just really overjoyed that it was able to come together in this way,” said Switzer. “And I'm so excited that people like it as well. And that it looks cohesive, because those are things that mean a lot to us at Thread.”
