“How emotions change like the seasons.”
The annual Resilience Through Dark Times exhibit can mean different things to different people, but the exhibit’s new theme this year emphasizes what anchors LSUS students when they’ve experienced tumultuous times.
The exhibit, which features art, poetry, essays and literature, is accepting student submissions until Oct. 9. Submissions are accepted from face-to-face and online students.
The exhibit will open Oct. 19 with a live viewing from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the lobby in front of the Student Success Center on the first floor of the Noel Memorial Library. The exhibit will remain up through the month of November.
Kendal Redel, director of LSUS Counseling Services, said the shift in theme has allowed for a broader range of topics in student-submitted work.
“This time we’ve focused on a fall theme, using poetic license to encourage students to think about the ways that their emotions change like the seasons and what anchors them or calms them during times that aren’t great,” Redel said. “Thinking about what anchors you, what gets you through, what brings you a sense of coziness and what makes you feel grounded is what this exhibit is about.
“We’ve found that the previous theme of resilience was too vague, and we thought this type of prompt would tickle the brain in a different way to encourage students to participate who may have not before. There’s a coziness and warmth with fall.”
Students who submit work are eligible to win raffle prizes like extended time in the LSUS Counseling Services relaxation room or an “autumn experience package” that could include blankets and other cozy things as well as guided meditation.
Redel said the majority of student work submitted so far has been visual (paintings and drawings), but the space lends itself to various forms of writing as well.
Students using creativity as an outlet can help them process things from their current or past lives while also providing concrete examples that could assist an exhibit attendee to not feel alone in their life circumstances.
“This exhibit is very much in alignment with what we do in Counseling Services because our goal is always to empower our students to tap into their inner or outer resources,” Redel said. “A lot of times, creativity is a part of that.”
The exhibit won’t stray far from its roots as awareness for suicide prevention in addition to overall mental health awareness, but Redel said expanding from that base will attract submissions from a larger slice of the student body.
“We time the event to accept submissions starting in September, which is Suicide Prevention Awareness month,” Redel said. “That’s always going to be the underlying current of why we’re doing this, making students aware of ways they can reduce loneliness and depression.”