Starving Artists Club hungry to help others

Ronald Reagan’s War on Arts in the 1980s changed the landscape of American education. Math, science and engineering became the intellectual darlings of neo-conservatives in the United States, as these were the students who would someday build sophisticated new weapons to fight the Soviet Union. Reagan’s betrayal of the arts is supremely ironic considering that he gained fame and fortune as a performing artist.

Arts budgets decimated arts education across the country, but two Southwestern College students are fighting back.

The Starving Artists Club, headed by President Helena Martinez, 19, and Vice-President Dahlia Salazar, 20, is a socially aware compliment to the more traditional SWC Art Club. Focus of the Starving Artists Club is to make the creation of art more affordable for low-income students who have been squeezed out of the lion’s share of arts education since the 1980s.

Martinez, a studio arts major, and Salazar, a fine arts major, are putting their own money into their club, which was not officially an SWC club last semester because it was not chartered. Sailing unchartered into uncharted waters was tough, Salazar said. Their initial efforts to help needy students and garner attention for their activities went unnoticed. Salazar said they were practically giving away used art supplies, but almost no one took advantage of their deals.

“We brought art supplies that students were not using anymore, like paint brushes, frames, clear plastic acetate, paper, canvases and stuff, and like nobody came and picked anything up,” she said. “For club members, they could pay $2 and grab whatever they wanted. For non-members it was like $3-4 for whatever they want.”

Without full-club status it was impossible for them to advertise with school-approved posters and flyers. Requesting money from the ASO for events was out and to host the member’s work at the Barrio Logan art gallery La Bodega, half of the $200 cost came out of their pockets. Salazar said the gallery forced them to reschedule and did not advertise the event properly, meaning it went unnoticed by the school and community.

Salazar said she is tired of people treating the arts like they do not matter and she hopes to eventually take what she has learned back to where she began.

“I want to be an art teacher at my old high school,” she said. “It got no funding and the teachers had to buy the supplies. I want to go and change that. Everyone that went into the class said it was for an easy A. I want to teach there and on the first day say ‘this class isn’t an easy A, just so you know.’ I want to change our perspective of art an make people respect it.”

Martinez said that her goal was to introduce aspiring artists to what the art world is really like. It can be rough.

“The Starving Artists Club a starting point for any student who is an artist that wants to get a firm grasp of what it is like to be an artist outside of school,” said Martinez. “School is kind of a bubble and the world is tough if you don’t know how to navigate it.”

Martinez said that her initial idea for an art club that was female-centric, but that evolved into a more inclusive club aimed to help poorer students afford to make art and teach them how to create pieces that can be sold at a profit.

Now that The Starving Artists Club is properly chartered with adjunct photography instructor Todd Stands as their advisor, they are making up for lost time.

Salazar said they plan to raise money at SWC with a hot dog sale and by selling art made by club members at farmer’s markets in order to provide scholarships to needy art students.

Now 15 members strong, Martinez said she hopes she will be able to help them grow as artists.

“I want these kids to not have to rely on the club and learn how to do these things on their own with the tools we’ve provided them. Once I’m gone, I hope they’ll be able to work together or set up their own solo shows or reach out to local artists who will help them.”