By NABIHA KESHWANI
The second floor of Willard Straight Hall will house Slope Studio — a collaborative space where students can work on art projects and meet new people next semester, according to the studio’s founders.
Sofia Hu ’17, president of Slope Studio, said she pioneered the idea with assistance from vice presidents Janhawi Kelkar ’17 and Ariel Hsu ’17, as well as design head Yodai Yasunaga ’17.
According to Yasunaga, while many places on campus require a membership fee or enrollment in a class, Slope Studio hopes to provide both materials and a free space for those who enjoy art — whether they are “talented or not.”
“We hope to design an open and versatile space that fosters social interaction and artistic creation,” Yasunaga said.
According to Hu — who is also a staff writer for The Sun — the doors to the studio will “always be open” to undergraguate, graduate and professional students, faculty, employees, alumni and residents of Tompkins County.
“Slope Studio can be a place to relax or socialize, to work and collaborate with others creatively or to simply work on your own artwork,” Hsu said.
The studio hosted their first event “Pop That Balloon” on April 18 where students helped create Slope Studio’s first work of art by throwing darts at paint-filled balloons, according to Hu.
“It was incredibly exciting to see so many students enjoy themselves while creating this masterpiece,” Hu said.
One of the major challenges of establishing this studio was revamping the space in the Straight, according to Yasunaga.
“Since the room has not been used for a while, the conditions were not ideal,” he said. “We hope to implement cost-effective methods to design the space.”
According to Kelkar, Slope Studio hopes to grow and create partnerships with organizations such as Cornell Minds Matter to host events on campus.
“I think I can safely say that we hope Slope Studio will remain open after we graduate,” Hsu said.