History of STARS
Montgomery County Community College’s annual STARS Student Art Contest began in 2000-2001. The goal of the contest is to marry art and social issues. Students are invited to use the power of art to speak for social justice. The specific social justice theme illustrated is chosen by the student. Themes that students have illustrated in the past include: "Diversity,” “Diversity and Justice in the United States, “Living with Conviction in a Changing World” and “The Meaning of Freedom.”
STARS is an acronym that stands for “Student Art to Raise Our Spirits.” The contest was originated by an interdisciplinary committee from Social Science, Humanities (and its Art faculty), the African Heritage Alliance, the Cultural Affairs Office, and the Office of Equity and Diversity Initiatives. The committee wanted to beautify the campus, to engage students in consciousness-raising about social issues, and to create a project that would engage interest across disciplines within the college.
The membership of the original STARS committee included administrators, faculty, staff, and students from the Blue Bell and the Pottstown campuses. Founding members of the committee were Angela Ambers-Henderson and Tony Davis (co-chairs, African Heritage Alliance), Susan Bass (Professor of Psychology), Elsa Rapp (Professor of History), Frank Short (Professor of Art), Bernard Mangiaracina (Professor of Art), and Theresa Savard (Professor of English as a Second Language). Dr. Bass has chaired the committee since the inception of the contest.
Current committee members include: Susan Bass (Psychology Faculty), Tony Davis (Counseling), Cheryl Gelover (Art Faculty), Stephen Grieco (Dean, Humanities), Helen Haynes (Director of Cultural Affairs), Dianne Johnson (Social Science Division Assistant), Elsa Rapp (History Faculty), Theresa Savard (ESL Faculty), Aaron Shatzman (Dean, Social Science), Janice Willis (Psychology Faculty), and Patrick Winston (Art Faculty).
The Montgomery County Community College Foundation provided seed money for the first year of the contest (2000-2001). The prize money for the contest is now provided by the Office of the Vice-President for Academic Affairs.
The College permanently displays the first prize winning artwork (from each year of the contest) in a place of honor—the Faculty/Staff Lounge of College Hall, Blue Bell campus. Many community groups meet in the Faculty/Staff Lounge and thus the public gets many chances to view the artwork. On Tuesday, May 19, 2004, a special reception was held in the Faculty/Staff Lounge to dedicate the first prize winning artwork to the college. On display are a mixed media work entitled “Common Threads” by Alice Fallon, a black and white photograph entitled ”Waiting for a Chance” by Samuel Smith, a graphic image entitled “No Barriers” by Eric Sauermelch, and a mixed media painting entitled “Reflections of Society” by Chris D”Antonio.
On Tuesday, May 19, 2004, a special reception was held in the Faculty/Staff Lounge to dedicate the display of the first prize winning artwork from all prior years of the contest. We will add one piece of student artwork to this art collection every year.
