ESU To Launch Second Installation of Inclusion Poster Project

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Posted by: Elizabeth Richardson on January 17, 2020, No Comments

East Stroudsburg University’s departments of art + design and modern languages, philosophy, and religion produced the second installation of The Inclusion Poster Project, a student art-and-design exhibit aimed at fostering dialogue about how the University’s scholarly community can promote inclusion and diversity. The exhibit includes the works of 18 art + design students who were coupled with 20 students from a section of philosophy that’s focused on race, gender and culture to express their opinions and views through the posters that were created.  Professors David Mazure (art + design) and T. Storm Heter (modern languages, philosophy, and religion) led this cross-disciplinary collaboration.

“This project is incredible. I’m thrilled to see it’s back on our campus,” says Joanne Z. Bruno, J.D., ESU’s provost and vice president for academic affairs. “The work done by these faculty members and their students is commendable. They have given a voice to those who are passionate about things taking place in society today – on our campus and elsewhere.”

A prepared purpose statement about the project states that the initiative is “…consistent with ESU’s values of intellectual integrity, freedom of expression, good citizenship, and accountability. Students studied inclusion as a concept in academic literature, inventoried campus spaces from a first-person perspective, and co-designed images and messages that would contribute to inclusive excellence on our campus…”

“We are the most diverse universities within Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education and we want to enable our students to reflect their personal views on the topic in order to engage in conversations and dialogue with others that is reflective of what they, see, feel and hear every day,” says Mazure.

The posters have been installed at various locations on campus in order to provide visibility to members of the campus and the greater community, according to Professor Mazure. The installation will be in place from January 20 through 31. For those who wish to come to campus and view the art, a catalog of the posters and their locations may be downloaded from the project’s webpage, esu.edu/inclusionposter. Anyone interested in sharing their comments and views on the students’ work may join the conversation online using the hashtag #inclusionposter.

It is important for those viewing the project to note the University’s disclaimer related to the works: “The Inclusion Poster Project is an initiative that is reflective of the opinions and views of the student designer who created this work. This poster does not necessarily portray the views of the University or its administration. However, it is important that the student voice be heard in this process. East Stroudsburg University supports the Inclusion Poster Project and its ability to offer students the right to express their artistic freedom.”

An open forum to discuss the project will be held on Tuesday, January 28 at 6:30 p.m. in the Smith McFarland Theatre of the university’s Fine and Performing Arts Center, Normal and Marguerite streets, East Stroudsburg.

The first Inclusion Poster Project installation occurred in November 2017 at ESU. The idea for the initiative is based on a poster exhibit on tolerance in Sarajevo by Mirko Ilic, a renowned designer and illustrator. For his exhibit, Ilic invited top designers from around the world to submit posters related to the topic of tolerance. It resulted in 24 posters that went on exhibit in Sarajevo in 2015.

For more information about ESU’s Inclusion Poster Project, visit esu.edu/inclusionposter or contact Professor Mazure at dmazure@esu.edu or Professor Heter at sheter@esu.edu.